Study: Disparity in Treatment May Help Explain Higher Black Death Rate

Differences in how African American women are treated for breast cancer may help explain why they have a higher death rate than white women diagnosed at a similar stage, according to National Cancer Institute researchers.

The researchers reported in the journal Cancer that survival rates for black women under the age of 50 were significantly lower than for white women whose disease was diagnosed at the same stage, but the disparity disappeared among women old enough to qualify for Medicare.

This "lack of a significant difference in the stage-specific survival rate" for women old enough for Medicare suggests that access to treatment -- rather than differences in biology -- may largely explain the higher death rate from breast cancer found among black women, the researchers said.

Researchers, who analyzed data on more than 110,000 breast cancer cases, also reported that breast cancer was more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage in African-American women of all ages.

"Rracial differences in the stage distributions indicated the need for earlier diagnosis for black females of every age," the researchers concluded.

Other Sources: Cancer