Factors That Contribute to Health Disparities in Cancer

Socioeconomic Status (e.g., education, income, and employment)
Research reveals a link between poverty and low educational achievement with increased cancer deaths among minority populations.¹

Access to and Utilization of Health Care Services (cancer screening)
Research documents inequalities in the use of preventive and primary care services. Additionally, minorities are far less likely than whites to have insurance and are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured.¹

Behaviors (e.g., physical activity, diet, and tobacco use)
Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating contribute to a number of chronic diseases, including some cancers.² Tobacco use is a well established risk factor for cancer of the lung and a number of other sites.³ The prevalence of cigarette smoking is higher among some racial and ethnic minorities than whites.⁴

Social Environment (e.g., educational and economic opportunities, racial/ethnic discrimination, and neighborhood and work conditions)¹
Some communities lack the basic resources that everyone needs for a healthy life. These include healthy food, safe housing, living-wage jobs, decent schools, supportive social networks, and access to health care. Social environments lacking basic resources present the highest public health risk for serious illness and premature death.

Exposure to Carcinogens (substances that are known or appear likely to cause cancer)⁵
A person's physical environment, workplace, socioeconomic status, and other factors can affect the likelihood of being exposed to these substances.

Treatment
Because minorities often do not receive timely treatment or receive treatment for later-stage disease,⁶ their survival rates are lower than those of whites.⁷

References

¹Williams DR, Neighbors HW, Jackson JS. Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies. American Journal of Public Health 2003;93(2):200–208.

²Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical Activity and Good Nutrition: Essential Elements to Prevent Chronic Diseases and Obesity: At A Glance 2008. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 2008.

³U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.

⁴Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette smoking among adults—United States, 2006. MMWR 2007;56(44):1157–1161.

⁵National Toxicology Program. 11th Report on Carcinogens. Research Triangle Park, NC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2004.

⁶Shavers VL, Brown ML. Racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of cancer treatment. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2002;94(5):334–357.

⁷Clegg LX, Li FP, Hankey BF, Chu K, Edwards BK. Cancer survival among US whites and minorities: A SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) Program population-based study. Archives of Internal Medicine 2002;162(17):1985–1993.