Private MD News

Treatment disparities persist in colon cancer

Category: Colon

Despite improvements in overall treatment, African American who receive positive colon cancer test results still have poorer overall treatment outcomes compared to Caucasians, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

While colon cancer remains one of the most common causes of cancer-related death, there have been significant strides made in recent years in treating the condition. However, the new findings suggests that these improvements may have been less beneficial to minority groups.

For the study, a team of researchers from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Cancer Project Biostatistical Center examined data collected from nearly 15,000 individuals af various ethnicities. The results showed that African-American participants had significantly worse five-year survival rates, compared to Caucasians.

The team said a number of factors, including access to healthcare resources, biological differences in response to therapies and varying degrees of overall health may explain the differences.

Given the clear difference in treatment quality, the researchers said the time for collecting data is over. Now it is up to the healthcare industry to implement changes that may improve the situation.