Amidst increasing focus on rising rates of substance abuse and suicide among white Americans and extending prior research on intergroup attitudes and health, this study examines a novel factor associated with psychological distress: disagreement with multiculturalism. Using the Portraits of American Life Study (N = 2,292), logistic regressions indicate that for Whites and Hispanics, increased likelihood of psychological distress (depression, hopelessness and worthlessness) is associated with stronger disagreement with multiculturalism, measured as “If we want to create a society where people get along, we must recognize that each ethnic group has the right to maintain its own unique traditions.” For Blacks, however, attitudes toward multiculturalism are not associated with psychological distress. Future research might determine if these results can be replicated, and if so, identify the causal mechanism(s) at work.

Leukoplakia in the oral cavity has been used as a putative surrogate marker of head and neck cancer development. A class of chemoprevention compounds, called protease inhibitors, has been shown in vitro and in animal models to effectively suppress premalignant lesions. Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) is a protease inhibitor derived from soybeans that has demonstrated chemoprevention activity in many in vitro and animal systems, including the hamster cheek pouch model. Pilot, Phase I and Phase IIa studies of Bowman-Birk Inhibitor in patients with oral leukoplakia have demonstrated no detectable side effects. In the Phase IIa trial, changes in the protease activity in oral mucosal cells after BBI Concentratec (BBIC) treatment correlated with the changes in neu protein levels. Additionally, evidence for a dose-related treatment effect of BBIC on oral leukoplakia was demonstrated. These results indicate that BBIC should be investigated for chemopreventive activity in a randomized clinical trial.

Investigation of retinoids for anticancer activity in humans, either in the chemopreventive or treatment mode, has been little studied. We summarize here our ongoing investigations in four different areas: (1) secondary prevention of cervical dysplasia with topical application of all-trans-retinoic acid; (2) adjuvant treatment of resected high-risk stage I and II malignant melanoma with bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) plus or minus oral vitamin A; (3) topical vitamin A acid therapy for cutaneous metastatic melanoma; an (4) oral isotretinoin as an anticancer agent.