Nationally, black patients are 48 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white patients, according to a recent study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention in October and cited by the Chicago Tribune.
Here are three things to know:
1. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, examined the data of 989 patients between 2005 and 2008. Researchers found that roughly 35 percent of white patients were diagnosed at relatively late stage of breast cancer, compared with 47 percent of black patients and 53 percent of Hispanic patients, the report states.
2. A statistical analysis of the data found that one of the main factors accounting for the disparity stemmed from whether the patient was diagnosed at a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence accredited by the American College of Radiology. The data showed that while 81 percent of white patients were diagnosed at such facilities, 46 percent of black patients and 49 percent of Hispanic patients were. Minority patients were more likely to be diagnosed at health facilities serving high-poverty populations, researchers found.
3. Richard Warnecke, PhD, a professor emeritus of public health at UIC, told the Chicago Tribune there was no racial disparity in breast cancer mortality until roughly 1996. However, one of the contributing factors was that as methods of cancer detection improved through the years, white patients were able to gain access to those technologies, while minority populations did not, he told the publication.
To access the full report, click here.