Cancer Death Rates Down but Racial Disparities Persist Among Black Men and Women

By Nicole Wetsman and Jennifer Miao

U.S. cancer deaths have fallen 33% since 1991, according to American Cancer Society data, which forecasts 609,820 deaths from cancer this year. Despite increased efforts to raise public awareness of the need for cancer screenings and increased availability of health care resources to under-represented populations, racial disparities in cancer deaths persist. The report found that the prostate cancer death rate was two to three times higher for Black men than all other racial groups, and breast cancer deaths among Black women are 40% higher than that of white women. Black women also have the highest uterine cancer death rates. As for the reasons for the racial disparities, Dr. Paul Corn of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center said, "A higher incidence of genetic changes associated with more aggressive disease may be one cause. However, other causes — such as reduced access to health care and higher uninsured rates — are equally important."

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