A new report by the American Cancer Society points to disparities in cancer survival between whites and blacks for certain cancers, although the reasons for these differences remain unconfirmed.
A new report by the American Cancer Society points to disparities in cancer survival between whites and blacks for certain cancers, although the reasons for these differences remain unconfirmed.
Published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Cancer Statistics for African Americans, 2016, summarizes the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, screening, and risk factors for cancers in African Americans in the United States. The report collated cancer incidence data from the National Cancer Institute, CDC, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, while the source for the mortality data was the National Center for Health Statistics. Based on the information gathered, the report predicts 189,910 new cases of cancer and 69,410 cancer deaths among blacks in 2016.
While the overall progress—measured in terms of reduced mortality—is real across genders between blacks and whites, the report found an increase in the racial gap in death rates for breast cancer in women and has remained the same for colorectal cancer in men. However, death rates from lung, prostate, and colorectal cancer have reduced much faster among black than white women, thereby reducing the racial gap. The following are some of the findings from the report:
Explaining their findings, the report’s lead author Carol DeSantis, MPH, said in a press release, “While some studies suggest that blacks who receive cancer treatment and medical care similar to that of whites experience similar outcomes, others report that racial disparities persist even after controlling for socioeconomic factors and access to care. The bottom line is accelerating progress in eliminating racial disparities requires equitable access to services for prevention, early detection, and high-quality treatment.”
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