Cancer and African Americans

African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers. Death rates for all major causes of death are higher for African Americans than for whites, contributing in part to a lower life expectancy for both African American men and African American women.

In 2008, African American men were 1.4 times and 1.5 times, respectively, more likely to have new cases of lung and prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
African American men were twice as likely to have new cases of stomach cancer as non-Hispanic white men.
African Americans men had lower 5-year cancer survival rates for lung, colon and pancreatic cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
African American men are 2.4 times as likely to die from prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
In 2008, African American women were 10% less likely to have been diagnosed with breast cancer, however, they were almost 40% more likely to die from breast cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.
African American women are 2.2 times as likely to have been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and they are 2.4 times as likely to die from stomach cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.

At a glance – New Cases:

**New Cancer Cases per 100,000 – Men (2008)**
Cancer	African American Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	African American/Non- HispanicWhite Ratio
All Sites	611.1	540.4	1.1
Colon and Rectum	63.3	50.0	1.3
Lung	92.9	68.4	1.4
Pancreas	18.5	13.8	1.3
Prostate	227.7	147.6	1.5
Stomach	16.3	8.1	2.0

**New Cancer Cases per 100,000 - Women (2008)**
Cancer	African American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	394.8	437.2	0.9
Breast	122.4	134.8	0.9
Cervical	8.9	6.2	1.4
Colon and Rectum	47.6	39.3	1.2
Pancreas	14.9	10.5	1.4
Stomach	7.9	3.6	2.2

Source: CDC, 2012 Health United States, 2011. Table 47.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

At a glance – Top Cancer Sites for African Americans (2005-2009):

**Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men**
Cancer	African American Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	627.1	564.7	1.1
Colon & Rectum	66.9	54.2	1.2
Esophagus	8.9	8.5	1.0
Kidney & Renal Pelvis	24.3	21.4	1.1
Liver & IBD	14.9	8.8	1.7
Lung & Bronchus	99.9	81.4	1.2
Oral Cavity & Pharynx	15.4	17.8	0.9
Pancreas	17.7	14.0	1.3
Prostate	236.0	150.6	1.6
Stomach	17.0	8.5	2.0

At a glance – Top Cancer Sites for African Americans (2005-2009):

**Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women**
Cancer	African American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	398.3	439.0	0.9
Breast	121.2	132.8	0.9
Cervical	9.8	7.1	1.4
Colon & Rectum	50.3	40.2	1.3
Kidney	12.0	10.7	1.1
Liver & IBD	4.4	2.9	1.5
Lung & Bronchus	52.6	59.3	0.9
Pancreas	14.4	10.6	1.4
Stomach	8.7	3.7	2.4

Source: NCI 2012. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/sections.html

At a glance – 5 Year Survival Rate:

**Percent of Patients, Men (2001-2007)**
Cancer	African American Men	White Men	African American/ White Ratio
All Sites	63.2	69.3	0.9
Colon	53.0	67.2	0.8
Lung	12.1	14.5	0.8
Pancreas	3.3	5.8	0.6
Prostate	97.9	99.9	1.0
Stomach	23.2	24.2	1.0

**Percent of Patients – Women (2001-2007)**
Cancer	African American Women	White Women	African American/White Ratio
All Sites	55.1	67.8	0.8
Breast	77.4	91.4	0.8
Cervical	60.9	70.3	0.8
Colon	56.1	65.8	0.9
Pancreas	4.3	6.1	0.7

Source: CDC, 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 48
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

At a glance – Death Rate:

**Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2005-2009)**
Cancer	African American Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	288.3	221.9	1.3
Colon & Rectum	29.8	19.8	1.5
Lung	82.6	68.0	1.2
Pancreas	15.5	12.7	1.2
Prostate	53.1	21.9	2.4
Stomach	10.3	4.0	2.6

**Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2005-2009)**
Cancer	African American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	174.6	154.7	1.1
Breast	31.6	23.0	1.4
Cervical	4.3	2.1	2.0
Colon and Rectum	19.8	13.8	1.4
Pancreas	12.6	9.4	1.3
Stomach	4.8	2.0	2.4

Source: NCI 2012. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009. Table 1.20.
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_single/sect_01_table.20_2pgs.pdf [PDF | 24KB]

At a Glance – Screening:

Breast Cancer

**Percent of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2010 (crude)**
Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
67.4	67.8	1.0

Source: CDC, 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 90.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

Cervical Cancer

**Percent of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2010 (crude)**
Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
77.4	72.8	1.1

Source: CDC, 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 91.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

Colon Cancer

**Adults age 50 and over who reported they ever had a colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or proctoscopy, United States, 2008**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
50.4	58.4	0.9

Source: 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 1_3_2.2b.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr11/index.html

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Content Last Modified: 6/12/2012 3:08:00 PM

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