Blacks are more likely to die of ovarian and breast cancer when receiving the same treatment as whites

Blacks receiving treatment equal to whites are more likely to die of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers but not many other types of cancer, according to a study published online Wednesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Washington Post reports. The new study offers provocative evidence to suggest that biological factors play a role. For the study, Kathy Albain of Loyola University and colleagues examined data collected on nearly 20,000 patients between 1974 and 2001 by the Southwest Oncology Group, a national cooperative of NCI-funded clinical trials. Because all participants received the same care, if socioeconomic factors were affecting survival rates, then differences in those rates would remain constant across all forms of cancer, the researchers reasoned. An analysis of the data found no statistically significant association between race and survival for lung cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. However, blacks were 49% more likely than whites to die from early stage postmenopausal breast cancer, 41% more likely to die from early stage premenopausal breast cancer, 61% more likely to die from advanced ovarian cancer and 21% more likely to die from advanced prostate cancer.