Study says screening accounts for much of black/white disparity
in colorectal cancer A new study finds differences in screening
account for more than 40 percent of the disparity in colorectal
cancer incidence and nearly 20 percent of colorectal cancer
mortality between blacks and whites. Differences in stage-
specific survival, which likely reflect differences in treatment
account for additional 35% of the black-white disparity in
colorectal cancer mortality rates. The study, appearing early
online in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention,
concludes that equal access to care could substantially reduce
the racial disparities in colorectal cancer (CRC) rates.
Previous studies have identified considerable disparities in CRC
incidence and mortality rates between blacks and whites in the
United States. For the new study, researchers led by Iris
Lansdorp-Vogelaar, a visiting scientist at the American Cancer
Society when this project was conceived and developed , and now
with Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam