Highest cancer mortality rates seen for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations and those with lower education attainment
FRIDAY, Dec. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — There are considerable disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes, according to a report published online Dec. 16 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Farhad Islami, M.D., Ph.D., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues provided updated data on disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes by sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location, together with contributors to these disparities.
The researchers identified substantial disparities across the cancer continuum for many cancers and in social determinants of health. Overall and for leading causes of cancer death, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations had the highest cancer mortality rates during 2019 through 2023. Adults with lower education attainment as a proxy for lower socioeconomic status also had consistently higher cancer mortality rates. Differences in cancer mortality were considerably larger by education than by race. Compared with White adults, Black adults with the same education level had higher overall cancer mortality rates by 7 to 28 percent for men and 2 to 43 percent for women; the largest differences were seen for those with ≥16 years of education. In nonmetropolitan versus large metropolitan counties, mortality from all cancers combined was 21 percent higher, with the largest differences seen for lung and cervical cancers (45 and 36 percent, respectively). The highest mortality rates overall and for lung, colorectal, and breast cancers were seen mainly in the South and East North-Central division of the Midwest, while no distinct geographic pattern was seen for prostate cancer.
“Under-resourced and minoritized groups continue to disproportionally experience barriers to cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, quality treatment, and survivorship, largely reflecting disparities in social determinants of health,” Islami said in a statement.
Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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