Reducing Racial Disparity in Colorectal Cancer Burden

Excerpt

Blacks suffer the greatest burden from colorectal cancer (CRC) of all race ethnicities in the USA [1]. The mortality from CRC per 100,000 population is 28.7 for black men, 19.0 for black women, 19.2 for white men, 13.6 for white women, 13.1 for Asian men, 9.7 for Asian women, 16.1 for Hispanic men, and 10.2 for Hispanic women [1]. Factors contributing to this disparity include poorer access to preventive services such as CRC screening, lack of adequate knowledge of a family history of CRC (the single most important factor that guides screening recommendations), sub-optimal utilization of healthcare resources when available, and possible biological differences, particularly with proximal location of malignancy as a likely contributor to late-stage presentation [2]. After cancer has been diagnosed, other factors that contribute to poorer outcome among blacks include lower surgical resection rates (the intervention that offers the best chance for cure), lower utilization of chemotherapy, and poorer social support. …