Colon cancer’s racial divide

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States, and blacks are less likely to survive the disease than whites, according to a recent study.

Dr. Michael Simon, professor of medicine and oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University, said that blacks may be at a greater risk, not because of race, but because of socioeconomic factors.

“That may represent part of the reason why survival differences exist,” Simon said. “It may not be the color of somebody’s skin, but maybe it’s just what is available to you. It is alarming to me that in 2009 there are people that get colon cancer that don’t have access to health care for whatever reason.”

The study found that 71 percent of the blacks involved in the study lived in working-poor areas versus only 10 percent of whites, and blacks were less likely to undergo surgery or treatment. A lack of access to adequate medical care and insurance in the black community could have an effect on the widening racial gap.

“This was a statistical analysis looking at the differences between African-American and white patients,” Dr. Simon said. “We looked at the survival differences overall and looked individually to see what factors might help predict why there were survival differences.”

The study found that blacks were 13 percent more likely to die within five years than white patients, and blacks were more likely to be diagnosed with an advanced stage of the cancer. Nearly 48 percent of blacks were diagnosed with stage III or IV cancer in comparison to 43 percent of white patients.

Throughout the study, researchers at the Karmanos Cancer Institute analyzed government data on men and women diagnosed with colon cancer between 1988 and 1992 in the Detroit metro area. They also set up census tracts to look at the patients’ socioeconomic and demographic data.

Dr. John Kauh, assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, tends to agree with Simon. Kauh explains that, in the study, when researchers corrected for the socioeconomic status of people with the same amount of insurance and money, there doesn’t seem to be a difference in outcome among white and black patients.

Dr. Kauh said it is important for people to begin getting screened for colon cancer at the age of 50. But if someone has a family history of colon cancer, they need to get a colonoscopy 10 years before the age in which their family member was diagnosed. He encourages people of all races to decrease their chances of developing the cancer by simply following the guidelines to prevent it.

While researchers continue to try to determine the various factors contributing to the racial gap, Dr. Simon said he hopes the information from this study encourages people to get proper care.

“I hope this promotes interest in screening and individuals getting colonoscopies and seeing their physician if they have signs of colon cancer,” Dr. Simon said. 