Cancer of the breast in poor black women

Article Abstract:

A 1973 a report from the Howard University Hospital described a decrease in cancer survival in black Americans when compared with whites. Since this report, efforts have been made to study this disparity. A 1986 report from the American Cancer Society concluded that this well-documented racial disparity is primarily due to socioeconomic factors. The treatment and survival of black and predominantly poor breast cancer patients treated at Harlem Hospital between 1964 and 1986 has been reviewed. Of the total 708 patients, 102 either refused treatment or died before it could be administered, and were excluded from the study. The overall 5-year survival rate was 39 percent for the remaining cases. For patients who received surgery, the 5- and 10-year survival rates were strongly dependent on the stage of disease. Stage I disease patients had a 5- and 10-year survival of 54 and 54 percent, respectively. For stage II disease patients, the 5- and 10-year survival was to 56 and 35 percent. In stage III cancer patients, the 5- and 10-year survival dropped to 41 and 18 percent. For stage IV disease patients, only 11 percent were alive after 5 years; none survived to 10 years. Although blacks have a slightly lower incidence of breast cancer than whites, the overall mortality rate is higher for blacks. In this study, which focused on poor blacks, the mortality rate was higher than that for blacks nationally, and much higher when compared with white mortality. Poverty might be a factor in the delaying diagnosis and treatment; 56 percent of the patients in this study had symptoms for more than three months prior to diagnosis. Several risk factors for breast cancer have been identified in the medical literature. However, in most studies, 75 percent of breast cancer patients do not belong to any particular higher risk factor group. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Economic aspects, African Americans, Breast cancer, Health, Health and race, Ethnic groups

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Epidemiology of oral cancer in Connecticut, 1935 to 1985

Article Abstract:

From 1935 to 1985 the Connecticut Tumor Registry recorded 9,708 cases of oral cancer. These cases were reviewed to determine long-term trends occurring over this period of time. A major trend is the decrease in incidence for men and an increase for women. The incidence among men has fallen from a peak of 14.8 per 100,000 in the early 1960s, to 10.9 per 100,000 in the early 1980s. Conversely, the incidence among women has risen from 1.4 per 100,000 in 1935, to 4.1 per 100,000 in the early 1980s. Although the increase in the incidence of oral cancer among females may be partially attributable to increased smoking among women, this does not seem to account for such a large change. At the current rate of change, oral cancer will be equally common among men and women by the mid-1990s. The study also found that the incidence of oral cancer was roughly proportional to the population density of the area. Thus, city residents are at higher risk than those living in rural areas. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Connecticut, Mouth cancer

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