MUSC, USC join forces against cancer in S.C.The appointment of the University of South Carolina (USC)’s James R. Hebert, Sc.D., to head up MUSC Hollings Cancer Center (HCC)’s prevention and control activities will bring expertise from two state research universities to address South Carolina’s pressing cancer problems.Hebert will retain his appointment as professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health as he assumes the position of associate center director for prevention and control at HCC. The announcement was made at the South Carolina Cancer Alliance (SCCA) meeting in Columbia on Sept. 30 by Carolyn Reed, M.D., director of the Hollings Cancer Center, and J.G. Reves, M.D., MUSC vice president for medical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “It is fitting to announce this appointment at the South Carolina Cancer Alliance meeting,” said Reed. “This is a group representing more than 300 statewide organizations and individuals whose mission is reducing the impact of cancer on all of the people in South Carolina.” South Carolina’s death rate for certain cancers is extremely high. Nationally, the state has the second highest mortality rate for multiple myeloma and oral/pharynx cancer and the third highest for pancreas and prostate cancers. A wide disparity exists among South Carolinians who are affected, with disparity rates in South Carolina being the highest in the nation. Cancer incidence rates are consistently higher for blacks than whites for most cancer sites, and black mortality rates are nearly twice that of whites for certain cancers. Black women get breast cancer less frequently than white women in South Carolina, but black women usually are not diagnosed until a later stage, adversely affecting their survival. South Carolina is a rural state with a 30 percent black population and is relatively economically disadvantaged. This translates into barriers to access cancer care and more advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis. “South Carolina is fertile ground for research in cancer prevention and control,” said Reed. “At the Hollings Cancer Center, we have a variety of very successful cancer prevention and control programs, but we need an energetic leader to bring these programs together and expand them to meet the needs of all of the people in our state. “In Dr. Hebert, we not only have an energetic, innovative leader with a proven track record in cancer prevention and control research activities, but he brings with him the superb resources of the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health and numerous other statewide contacts.” He is currently the principal investigator of the South Carolina Cancer Research Network and chair of the Research Task Force of the SCCA. Working with faculty and resources at Hollings and USC, Hebert will oversee a statewide cancer prevention and control program to advance scientific knowledge and implement effective measures to reduce cancer incidence, mortality and disparity in South Carolina. “A strong, targeted research program is an important part of this initiative,” explained Reed. “Rather than competing for funds, the cancer researchers in South Carolina will be joining forces. This will enhance their ability to compete for grants and contracts and develop contracts to conduct specific research targeting cancer issues affecting South Carolinians.” Hebert’s leadership will assist in HCC’s goal of achieving the elite status of National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. “An effective and coordinated prevention and control program with a strong research foundation will enhance these efforts,” said Reed. “Dr. Hebert will bring the many existing resources from MUSC and USC together into a cohesive unit that will meet the NCI’s stringent requirements.” Hebert is an epidemiologist, whose main area of cancer research relates to diet and other aspects of lifestyle such as physical activity, smoking and drinking. He is also interested in reasons why dietary interventions fail, especially long term. This has led him to study the social, psychological and emotional dimensions in diet. He is principal investigator on 13 studies, including one recently funded by the U.S. Army that looks at how the course of prostate cancer is affected by an intensive, vegetable-based diet combined with physical activity and stress reduction. A graduate of Boston University, Hebert holds a master of science in
public health from the University of Washington in Seattle and a doctor
of science in nutritional epidemiology from Harvard University. He
held a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship for Research into Diet and
Oral Cancer in India and has been elected a fellow of the American College
of Epidemiology and a member of the Nutrition Society of London.
Prior to joining the USC Arnold School of Public Health in 1999, he served
as deputy director of the University of Massachusetts Cancer Center.
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