The Statistics
Cancer exacts a higher toll in African Americans than in whites. The mortality is higher across virtually all tumor types and stages. In breast cancer, more African American women present with advanced disease. Even in patients with similar stages of disease at presentation, survival is worse for African Americans. Only 76 percent of African American women diagnosed with breast cancer survive compared to 90 percent of white women.
More cancers are diagnosed in African American adults -722 new cases per 100,000-compared to 665 new cases in whites. Male African Americans share the heaviest burden in this disparity in incidence. Cancer mortality also is higher in African Americans, where 237 per 100,000 will die compared to 190 Caucasians. Although cancer mortality has generally decreased, the age-adjusted morality rate is 36% higher in African American males than in white males.
The continued difference in survival from cancer between African Americans and whites is alarming. While the reasons are not completely understood, most clinicians agree that timely and adequate access to healthcare is an issue, since patients in higher socio-economic levels have better outcomes than minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. Molecular mechanisms including differences in gene expression also are likely involved, and may account for differences in tumor behavior and response to therapy. The genes involved may prove to be excellent diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
The Howard University Cancer Center and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins formed a partnership in 2001 to address the many components of this ongoing problem. The partnership has a four pronged approach to the dilemma-Research, Outreach, Education and Training and has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Back to Howard Hopkins Partnership Home | 
