The SISTER Study
The SISTER Study is no longer enrolling. If you were a participant in the SISTER Study between 2021 and 2025, please visit the Extension page to learn about what we are doing next and how to reconnect.
Thank you to the all the Black women who shared their treatment experience with us in order to help better inform care and support for themselves and Black women who may be diagnosed with endometrial cancer in the future. We especially want to acknowledge our study participants who have transitioned. We will be forever grateful for their selfless contributions to SISTER. The fight for community and dignified care will continue in your honor.
Study background
Black women have much higher mortality from endometrial cancer compared with other groups in the United States, as they tend to have more high-risk, aggressive endometrial cancer. High-risk endometrial cancer requires treatment beyond surgery (chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and others), but Black/African American women have less success with treatment compared with White women, likely due to treatment delays or not receiving all prescribed treatment.
The Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African Americans (ECANA) - made up of Black endometrial cancer survivors, researchers, and advocates - has identified social support as a priority research area to improve outcomes for Black women. We know from research that social isolation during treatment can affect cancer outcomes through physiologic changes that lead to cancer progression and lower survival rates. Black/African American women are uniquely at risk for social isolation due to cultural, socioeconomic, and physical stressors.
Studies show that social support interventions, including peer-led support groups and one-on-one peer support, decrease social isolation and improve the likelihood of patients completing treatment. Despite professional organizations’ recommendations that comprehensive cancer centers include social support programming, actual practice varies. No studies have tested peer support strategies for Black women with endometrial cancer. There is a critical need to identify the most effective social support intervention for Black women undergoing adjuvant endometrial cancer treatment. The SISTER Study meets this need.
The SISTER Study was the first national randomized trial to focus on improving outcomes for Black/African American women with endometrial cancer. 252 Black women enrolled in the SISTER Study and shared in their treatment journey with us, supported by each other and other Black survivors of endometrial cancer. The study goals were to:
- compare two evidence-based interventions (group-based peer support and one-on-one peer support) against each other and against usual care delivery, to understand which is more effective at improving treatment completion among Black women with high-risk endometrial cancer
- determine if the group-based and/or one-on-one peer support interventions reduce social isolation during treatment; and
- evaluate whether patients, healthcare staff, and peer support providers find these interventions acceptable.
Soon, we will share our results and publications! To learn about how we are continuing the work, check out the Extension tab!
Sharing our results
The study was designed and conducted with close collaboration of ECANA ambassadors and other stakeholders — individuals and groups to whom outcomes of Black women with endometrial cancer matter. Making sure that the voices and experiences of Black women with endometrial cancer are at the center of all we do is a top priority. We also value transparency. With guidance from all stakeholders, we will share what we learn from study results in many different ways, including recommendations for changes to clinical guidelines and cancer center programming, reports and webinars for women who participated in the study, and webinars and summaries for clinicians and researchers. The SISTER Study is finished enrolling, and we are currently analyzing the rich data we received from participants. Stay tuned for more on what we learned from the SISTER Study.