By REBECCA ADAMS

Researchers and medical providers need to pay closer attention to the different ways that minority populations react to cancer treatment , especially as the nation becomes increasingly diverse, said a report released Thursday by the President’s Cancer Panel.

“As the cultural landscape of our nation continues its transformation, the one-size-fits-all approach to cancer screening guidelines, prevention, and treatment is no longer appropriate,” said LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., a doctor and chairman of the panel, in a statement. “A more accurate understanding of cancer risk factors among diverse populations and improved training in cultural competency are critical steps toward reducing the national burden of cancer.”

Cancer incidence among minority populations is expected to nearly double between 2010 and 2030, the panel said — a fact that underscores the need for a more accurate and complete assessment of the likelihood that increased numbers of minorities in the United States may change cancer incidence and mortality in the future.

By 2050, whites will no longer outnumber minorities in America, according to demographic projections.

Some of the recommendations in the report include:

• Researchers should examine the impact of changing demographics and expand the current understanding of related factors that influence cancer risk, incidence, and mortality. This knowledge must then be applied for the benefit of all sub-populations in order to implement more accurate preventive measures.

• Current cancer screening guidelines should be evaluated to determine their accuracy in assessing disease burden in diverse populations. In particular, the report recommends that researchers consider the patient population in its entirety and identify common genetic, sociologic and environmental risk factors on which to base screening recommendations.

• Health care providers should consider patient sociocultural and socioeconomic characteristics when addressing cancer prevention and treatment.

• Cultural competency should become an integral part of medical and research training curricula, as well as a continuing education requirement. The panel also said that trained interpreters should be viewed as essential members of the health care team.

• Because weaknesses in existing data may thwart efforts to characterize populations in a scientifically meaningful way, data collection should be improved. For instance, information should include standardized data sets and uniform definitions of race and ethnicity.

Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said that the report demonstrates how important it is to make sure that studies consider the risks that result in cancer and effects of treatment among people from all demographic groups.

“Overwhelmingly clear is the fact that in order to advance our control of this disease we must understand the role that culture, habits, and environment play in cancer causation and the cancer treatment experience,” Brawley said. “We must also understand that the role of genetics in cancer is significant but it is not the whole story, and we must not let that blind us from seeing other factors at work here. The report clearly points out that race is a social and not a biologic construct, a point few Americans understand.”

Brawley noted that cancer mortality rates are declining faster among African-Americans than among whites, and if this current trend continues, the disparity may disappear in the next two decades.

“At the same time it is clear that a significant portion of the American population, however one defines them, is currently not receiving adequate cancer prevention and adequate cancer treatment,” he said.