Black Patients More Likely To Die After Second Primary Cancer Diagnosis Than White Peers

With a surging vested interest in centering race and gender disparities in fighting genetic diseases, researchers have found new pertinent information concerning Black cancer patients and mortality rates.

According to HealthDay via U.S. News & World Report, Black Americans who receive a second primary cancer diagnosis after their first are more likely to die than their white peers.

The American Cancer Society reports that Black patients have a 21 percent higher cancer-related death rate than non-Black patients. As is the case with first primary cancer, late-term diagnosis is a key contributing factor to lower survival rates in Black and Hispanic patients. In cases of breast cancer, melanoma, and uterine cancers, racial disparities continue to be a matter of life or death.

“The findings highlight research priorities to address survival disparities among the growing population of multiple primary cancer survivors,” said Hyuna Sung, senior principal scientist of cancer surveillance research at The American Cancer Society.

The study compiled data from 18 health databases in order to properly establish the link between race and second primary cancer death rates.

Researchers also spent time assessing the socioeconomic factors that may play contributing factors into a patient’s likelihood of survival. Attributes such as household income and whether people lived in urban or rural environments were identified as well as access to treatment.

“Persons with multiple primary cancers may face unique challenges such as limited treatment options, multiple chronic [illnesses], complexity in navigating health care systems, and exacerbated financial hardship,” Sung said.

“Issues of financial hardship may be particularly relevant.”

Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, says the American Cancer Society is seeking increased funding to continue looking at the link between race and genetic diseases in a larger scope. The hope of many medical professionals is to find a more efficient path to diagnosis that, in turn, creates an easier path to survival.