Black Americans die from cancer at much higher rates than non-Hispanic Caucasians, according to Edward Partridge, M.D., president-elect of the American Cancer Society (ACS) National Board of Directors and director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Multi-pronged, community based efforts are necessary, he said. He finds disparities in screening, access to care, and differences in behaviors are among the causes. Advances in oncology only widen the gap when minorities have restricted access to quality screening and treatment.
Partridge and Mona Fouad, M.D., director of the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center published a call for community driven efforts to close the gap in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday.
