September 10, 2007
Racial differences in kidney cancer care
From Reuters:
Dr. Sonja I. Berndt from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues examined data for 964 black and 10,482 white Medicare beneficiaries with renal cell cancer.
Blacks were much more likely than whites to have other illnesses, in addition to kidney cancer, the authors found.
Blacks survived a median of 2.5 years, while whites survived a median of 3.2 years, the investigators report, but this difference was eliminated when they adjusted for other illnesses present in blacks and treatment type.
"Although the reasons for the disparity in treatment are not entirely clear and need to be examined in future studies," the authors conclude, "this study suggests black patients may benefit from efforts to improve the availability of health care and interventions to reduce comorbid illness."
The study can be found in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Posted by Staff at 09:29 AM
Category: Cancer; Disparities; Health Disparities; Kidney Cancer