Abstract B052: Exploring supplement utilization patterns among African American prostate and breast cancer survivors
Authors: Kranjac Carlene , Alonso Estefania , Tovar Margaret , Contreras Sandra , Awoyinka Iwalola , Sheean Patricia , Stolley Melinda 
Published: September 2024

Introduction: The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines dietary supplements as “vitamins and minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and more.” ACS advises against supplement use for cancer prevention, with no suggestions for survivors. Regardless, 64-81% of cancer survivors and 14-32% of recently diagnosed cancer patients in the U.S. will begin taking supplements to improve health outcomes. Despite this prevalence, few studies have examined supplement use in African American cancer survivors, and studies that have been done include small samples. This project examines supplement use across two genders and two cancer types within a population group historically underrepresented in research. Given the dearth of research to date, this project adds novel findings to the literature and informs future research.Objectives: This study describes supplement use in African American breast and prostate cancer survivors engaged in lifestyle intervention trials, identifies potential correlates of supplement use; and compares supplement use between the two populations. Methods: Men Moving Forward (MMF) is an ongoing lifestyle intervention study for African American prostate cancer survivors. Moving Forward (MF) is a completed lifestyle intervention study that included African American breast cancer survivors. Both studies examine the efficacy of a community-based intervention that promotes adherence to the American Cancer Society Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines. At baseline, study participants completed interviews that included a measure of supplement use including type, dose, frequency, and reason for use. Supplements were then categorized by type (e.g., Vitamin D, Vitamin B12) and descriptive analyses were conducted to examine most common types of supplements used, potential correlates of use, and to compare the two cancer survivor groups. Results: 114 men currently enrolled in the MMF study, and 223 women enrolled in MF completed the supplement use measure. Average ages of participants are 66.2 years (SD=7.5) for MMF and 57.5 years (SD=10.1) for MF. Supplement use was common, with 64.0% of MMF participants and 65.9% of MF participants using at least one supplement at baseline. Mean number of supplements was 1.62 (SD=1.9) for MMF and 1.76 (SD=2.0) for MF. The most used supplements were the same across survivor groups: Vitamin D (37.7% MMF, 38.1% MF), Multivitamins (27.2% MMF, 32.7% MF) and Omega-3 Fatty Acids (8.8% MMF, 19.3% MF). Age, education, and income will be explored as predictors of usage. Conclusions: Supplement use was prevalent among both survivor groups, consistent with national data for adult cancer survivors who report supplement use. However, our sample had higher usage rates compared to Non-Hispanic Black US adults without cancer (39.3% of men, 56.2% of women) from the 2023 National Health Statistics Report. Understanding supplement use in cancer survivors can identify potential risks and benefits of use, enhance patient-provider communication, and improve the quality-of-care patients receive.

Citation Format: Carlene Kranjac, Estefania Alonso, Margaret Tovar, Sandra Contreras, Iwalola Awoyinka, Patricia Sheean, Melinda Stolley. Exploring supplement utilization patterns among African American prostate and breast cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B052.