Cancer's Racial Gap Narrowing For Some, Not All, Cancers

Article date: February 1, 2011

By Rebecca V. Snowden

Racial disparity in cancer death rates is decreasing, but African Americans continue to bear a greater cancer burden than any other racial group in the United States, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2011-2012, the latest edition of the American Cancer Society's biannual report.

Cancer death rates among African Americans have been steadily decreasing since 1991. According to the report, the decline has been larger in men (2.5% per year since 1995) than in women (1.5% per year since 1999), a pattern similar to whites. However, the numbers are still much higher than in whites. Cancer death rates in 2007 were 32% higher in African-American men and 16% higher in African-American women than in white men and women, respectively.

According to the report, the most common cancers among African-American men are prostate (40%), lung (15%), and colorectal (9%) cancer, and among African-American women, breast (34%), lung (13%), and colorectal (11%) cancer. Lung cancer accounts for the highest number of deaths among both African-American men (29%) and women (22%), followed by prostate cancer in men (16%) and breast cancer in women (19%).

In recent years, death rates for smoking-related cancers and for prostate cancer have decreased faster in African American men than in white men. However, the gap has widened for colorectal cancer in both men and women and for breast cancer in women.

For nearly all cancer types, African Americans are far more likely than whites to be diagnosed in advanced stages of disease, when the cancer is less treatable. African Americans are also less likely than whites to survive 5 years after a diagnosis, regardless of cancer type and stage of diagnosis, the report found.

The reasons are complex, the researchers say. There are significant differences in income and education, as well as barriers to high-quality health care. Lifestyle factors also play a role.

“While the factors behind these racial disparities are multifaceted, there is little doubt socioeconomic status plays a critical role,” said Otis W. Brawley, MD, American Cancer Society chief medical officer. “African Americans are disproportionately represented in lower socioeconomic groups. For most cancers, the lower the socioeconomic status, the higher the risk.”

Being overweight or obese is also a risk factor for many cancers, including breast, colorectal, uterine, esophageal, and kidney cancer. According to the report, 44% of African-American adults are considered obese and 74% are overweight. African Americans are also less likely to engage in physical activity. The National Health Interview Survey found that almost half of African-American adults reported no leisure-time physical activity. Exercise has been linked to a lower risk of some cancers.

Closing the Gap

The American Cancer Society is committed to reducing the disparity gap. Since 1999, the Society has funded 117 studies totaling $99 million devoted to the poor and medically under¬served. Thirty-five percent of this research focuses on the African-American population.

To read the report, visit www.cancer.org/statistics.

Reviewed by Members of the ACS Medical Content Staff