Health Disparities and Cancer: Racial Disparities in Cancer Mortality in the United States, 2000–2010

Abstract

Declining cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States (U.S.) have continued through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Reductions in tobacco use, greater uptake of prevention measures, adoption of early detection methods, and improved treatments have resulted in improved outcomes for both men and women. However, Black Americans continue to have the higher cancer mortality rates and shorter survival times. This review discusses and compares the cancer mortality rates and mortality trends for Blacks and Whites. The complex relationship between socioeconomic status and race and its contribution to racial cancer disparities is discussed. Based on current trends and the potential and limitations of the patient protection and affordable care act with its mandate to reduce health care inequities, future trends, and challenges in cancer mortality disparities in the U.S. are explored.

Post-surgical depressive symptoms and long-term survival in non-metastatic breast cancer patients at 11-year follow-up

“…Next, covariates known to theoretically influence the outcomes were included and multivariate comparisons were conducted with adjusted Cox proportional hazards (PH) models [20] to examine the effects of depressive symptoms on clinical disease outcomes beyond effects of potential confounders. Covariates—age [1], race/ethnicity [21], partner status [22], chemotherapy [23], and study condition (control vs. intervention)– were manually entered into the regression model [24]. …”

American Society of Clinical Oncology Strategic Plan for Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Oncology Workforce

“…1 Significant progress has been made to reduce cancer mortality for all populations; however, black men and women in the United States bear the greatest burden of disease, having the highest incidence and mortality rates for common cancers, such as lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. 2 A 2015 American Cancer Society report suggests that the breast cancer mortality gap between black and white women has actually widened over the past few years.…”

Epigenetic basis of cancer health disparities: Looking beyond genetic differences

“…According to the data from US SEER database for year 2013, prostate cancer had a disparity ratio of 118.52% (39.05 AA deaths Vs. 17.87 CA deaths, per a population size of 100,000). There is disparity in both the incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer, with the numbers being disproportionately higher for AA men; nearly two-thirds higher incidence and more than double mortality [1, 71–75]. In a study that investigated molecular basis of racial disparities in prostate cancer, a set of six genes ( GSTP1, glutathione S-transferase pi-1; AR, androgen receptor; RARβ2; SPARC, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine; TIMP3, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 and NKX2-5, NK2 homeobox-5 ) was chosen based on the reports on their hypermethylation in patient samples [76].…”