Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet its burden is not shared equally across populations. Persistent disparities in cancer incidence, progression, treatment response, and survival among racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups represent a major public health challenge. While differences in healthcare access, environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, social and cultural barriers, and socioeconomic conditions contribute significantly to these inequities, growing evidence suggests that biological mechanisms also play a critical role. Notably, disparities in cancer outcomes often persist even after accounting for socioeconomic and healthcare-related factors, highlighting the need to better understand the complex interplay between biological and non-biological determinants of cancer health disparities.

 This book aims to shed light on the existing health disparities in human malignancies of various anatomic origins across diverse populations by compiling information on the biological and socio-epigenomic bases of cancer health disparities. Chapters are written by teams of experts from different fields, whose insights help develop roadmaps for collective action to reduce disparities in cancer health outcomes. Comprehensive and interdisciplinary in scope, this book serves as an essential resource for basic, translational, and clinical researchers, physicians, public health and social scientists, trainees, funding organizations, policymakers, and all stakeholders committed to advancing cancer health equity.

Dr. Ajay Singh, Ph.D., is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Associate Director for Basic and Translational Research at the Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of Mississippi Medical Center. An internationally recognized cancer researcher, he has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, holds five U.S. patents, and serves on the editorial boards of multiple scientific journals. His research program investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving cancer progression, metastasis, therapeutic resistance, and cancer health disparities, with a strong emphasis on translating mechanistic discoveries into novel approaches for cancer prevention and treatment.

 Dr. Sarabjeet Kour Sudan is an Instructor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and an Associate Member of the Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Her research program combines epidemiological, translational, and molecular sciences to elucidate the biological, environmental, and social determinants of cancer progression and cancer health disparities. She has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and serves as a reviewer and guest editor for several international scientific journals. Dr. Sudan is committed to advancing interdisciplinary research that bridges population health and cancer biology to address critical challenges in cancer health disparities.