Black kidney cancer patients die earlier than white patients

Category: News Briefs Published on Monday, 12 November 2012 16:42 Written by The Grio

Research shows that whites with kidney cancer consistently outlive blacks with the same condition. (Photo: Fotolia, ©bst2012)

From Healthline: Racial disparities between blacks and whites affect a number of diseases and health outcomes, and cancer is no exception. Research shows that whites with kidney cancer consistently outlive blacks with the same condition, according to a new study appearing in the American Cancer Society’s publication, CANCER.

Black Americans also have a higher incidence of kidney cancer to begin with, but despite comparable tumor size, surgical treatments, and other patient characteristics, they die sooner than whites, pointing to a host of other factors at play that should be explored in additional studies. Previous research has shown that social support, health literacy, education, and socio-economic status all contribute to racial health disparities—so doctors, individuals, and policy makers have their work cut out for them.

http://thegrio.com/2012/11/12/black-kidney-cancer-patients-die-earlier-than-white-patients/