Research Results

• New Study Implicates Healthcare Utilization Rates, More than Biology, in Colorectal Cancer Disparities ¹
  Higher rates of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality experienced by African-Americans may be driven largely by differences in health care utilization, and less by biology, according to a new study led by researchers from NCI. Lower rates of follow-up could lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment and higher mortality. 
• Researchers Find Biological Factors that May Drive Prostate Tumor Aggressiveness in African-American Men ²
  Researchers analyzing prostate tumors have identified differences in gene expression (the degree to which individual genes are turned on or off) between African-American and European-American men that show the existence of distinct tumor microenvironments (the area that includes the tumor and the surrounding non-cancerous tissue) in these two patient groups.
• More Accurate Method of Estimating Invasive Breast Cancer Risk in African American Women Developed ³
  A new model for calculating invasive breast cancer risk, called the CARE model, has been found to give better estimates of the number of breast cancers that would develop in African American women 50 to 79 years of age than an earlier model which was based primarily on data from white women.
• Hispanic Breast Cancer Differences Persist with Equal Access to Care ⁴
  Despite equal access to health care services, differences persist in the size, stage, and grade of breast cancer for Hispanic women compared with non-Hispanic white (NHW) women, according to results from a study published April 9 in Cancer.
• Age, Race, and Income Level Associated with Undertreatment of Ovarian Cancer ⁵
  Women with ovarian cancer who are aged 70 and older, African American or Hispanic, or insured by Medicaid were less likely to receive the recommended comprehensive surgical treatment, according to study results in the May 15, 2007 journal Cancer.
• Younger Black Women Develop a More Lethal Type of Breast Cancer ⁶
  The incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal African American women is lower than in their white counterparts, but they are more likely to die from the disease. As reported in the June 7, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the population prevalence of a basal-like subtype of cancer in this group may help to explain their higher mortality rate.
• Minorities Just as Willing to Participate in Health Research ⁷
  Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans from ethnic and racial minority groups are as willing to take part in health research studies, when invited to do so, as other groups of Americans, according to the Feb. 2006 Public Library of Science - Medicine.
• Striking Discrepancies Seen in Smoking-Related Lung Cancer Risk ⁸
  In one of the largest prospective studies of its kind, researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine report significant racial and ethnic differences in smoking-related lung cancer risk, according to the January 26, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
• What Barriers Keep Older Patients Out of Cancer Clinical Trials? ⁹
  The authors of this report from the May 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology systematically review what's known about the barriers preventing older patients from taking part in cancer clinical trials.
• Published Research from Special Populations Networks ¹⁰
  Citations for published research about cancer health disparities, authored by investigators who are part of the Special Populations Networks.