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Archived
June, 2007 |
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Highlights in Minority Health
April, 2005
| APRIL 18th - 22nd IS
MINORITY CANCER AWARENESS
WEEK |
| Cancer is the second leading cause of
death in the United States, causing more than 500,000 deaths each
year. The burden of cancer is not distributed equally—many racial
and ethnic minority groups suffer from higher incidence, higher
mortality, and poorer survival rates than white Americans. |
| Race/ethnicity interacts in complex ways
with socioeconomic status (SES), income, education, employment,
occupation, living conditions, health insurance, quality of care,
and other social factors to influence differences in cancer risk
factors, screening, incidence, mortality, and survival among
minority populations. |
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| EXAMPLES OF
IMPORTANT DISPARITIES RELATED TO CANCER |
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African Americans have the highest cancer death rate
of all racial/ethnic groups (African Americans: 238.8 per 100,000;
Non-Hispanic white: 195.6; All populations: 193.5; Hispanic/Latino:
128.4; American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN): 125.4; Asian/Pacific
Islander: 113.6) (2002). |
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African-American females have the highest death rate
from breast cancer, even though whites have a higher incidence rate
(breast cancer death rate for African Americans: 34.5 per 100,000;
whites: 25.4; Hispanic/Latinas: 16.3; Asian/Pacific Islanders: 12.8)
(2001). |
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Cervical cancer incidence and mortality is highest
among African American women (incidence: 11.9 per 100,000;
mortality: 4.8 per 100,000) and Hispanic/Latina women (incidence:
11.8 per 100,000; mortality: 3.4 per 100,000). This compares to
cervical cancer incidence (8.4 per 100,000) and mortality (2.7 per
100,000) of the general population (2001). |
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Asians and Pacific Islanders women have the highest
incidence rates of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer and
stomach cancer (liver incidence: 6.8 per 100,000; stomach incidence:
11.0 per 100,000). This compares to stomach cancer incidence rates
(4.8 per 100,000) and Liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer
incidence rates (2.7 per 100,000) for women of all racial/ethnic
groups (2001). |
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Asians and Pacific Islanders men have the highest
incidence rates of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer and
stomach cancer (liver incidence: 20.1 per 100,000; stomach
incidence: 18.0 per 100,000). This compares to liver and
intrahepatic bile duct cancer incidence rates (7.5 per 100,000) and
stomach cancer incidence rates (10.0 per 100,000) for men of all
racial/ethnic groups (2001). |
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From 1996-2000, among females, American Indian/Alaska
Natives had the third highest rate of death from lung and bronchus
cancer (26.2 per 100,000), after whites (41.5 per 100,000) and
African-Americans (40.0 per 100,000). |
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Males are 1.5 times more likely to die from cancer
than are females (male cancer mortality rate: 238.9 per 100,000;
female cancer mortality rate: 163.1 per 100,000) (2002). |
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| FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT CANCER |
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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) |
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NCCDPHP Cancer Prevention and
Control |
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