Dr. Dinan's research passions include the diffusion, adoption, and utilization of emerging technologies in cancer care and their associated impact on outcomes, costs, quality, access, and disparities in cancer care for all patients. As with any advance in medical technology, the introduction of oral anticancer agents (OAAs) in kidney cancer has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes, but also has the potential to exacerbate preexisting disparities in care if these advances in OAAs are not equally available or do not provide the same benefit to all patients. Dr. Dinan's current study addresses a critical gap in our knowledge by investigating a mix of nationally representative, yet diverse populations of patients with kidney cancer in the United States by using three complementary data sources which, when combined, include patients of all ages, insurance, geography, and race to investigate the current and future utilization, outcomes, and costs associated with emerging OAAs in patients with kidney cancer.

Dr. Dinan first became interested in the field of emerging technologies in cancer while working on her AHRQ-funded K99/R00 award examining disparities in the utilization of OncotypeDX in breast cancer patients and how the use of this emerging diagnostic translated to differential treatment and outcomes for these patients. In recent years, targeted anticancer agents, especially oral agents, have been rapidly emerging in many cancers. However, receipt of oral anticancer drugs may also bring increased risk of disparities in access and adherence. This is particularly of interest in renal cell carcinoma, a cancer in which racial disparities have long existed and there is now a multitude of new oral agents being introduced into practice. This combination of existing disparities and risk for worsening disparities, despite the existence of better treatments, drew Dr. Dinan to specifically study this topic further in renal cell patients.