The SCCS is a study of cancer and other prevalent diseases.  The SCCS is unique because participants were recruited predominantly from community health centers in the southeastern United States.  Findings from the SCCS are helping to increase our understanding of the causes of cancer and other major diseases.  

Cancer is the leading cause of death among the US population aged 40-79.  Certain groups; African Americans, low-income individuals , or those living in particular geographical areas; experience a disproportionately high burden of cancer for reasons that are only partly understood.  This burden includes having a higher probability of getting cancer or a higher chance of dying from cancer once diagnosed.  These types of health disparities could have many causes – some rooted in environmental exposures within and beyond one’s control and some biologically or genetically based.  It is likely that a combination of factors is involved, and that the reasons for differing cancer burden vary for each type of cancer.

The Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), funded by the National Cancer Institute, was initiated in 2001. It was established to address many unresolved questions about the root causes of cancer health disparities, using its findings expected to help prevent and reduce the burden of cancer among all populations.  This prospective cohort study of approximately 85,000 adults, in the southeastern United States, has among the highest representation of African Americans (two-thirds) among existing U.S. cohorts and a large biorepository poised to address scientific questions about the causes of both common and rare cancers (as well as of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease).

"The Southern Community Cohort Study researchers aim to identify determinants for health disparities to better serve populations that have historically been underrepresented."  
-Dr. Wei Zheng, Principal Investigator, SCCS  ​