The largest study to date of population-based cancer survival in the United States shows significant disparities in survival rates over a five-year period between blacks and whites for nine of the leading 10 cancers in the country studied

The study, which covers the years 2001 to 2003 and 2004 to 2009 in the United States, follows and draws on the 2015 worldwide CONCORD2 cancer study published in England. It shows lower survival rates for black women compared to white women with breast, cervical, or ovarian cancers, as well as lower survival rates among black men with prostate cancer compared to white men with the disease, and lower survival rates for blacks compared to whites for a number of other cancers including colon, rectal, and lung. Survival rates are low over a five-year-period for stomach cancer, which showed only small differences between whites and blacks, as are survival rates for liver cancer. Black children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the one cancer studied in children, also had lower survival rates compared to white children. The American Cancer Society's report, "Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2016-2018," shows results similar to the just published study. The ACS report, looking at data from 2008 to 2012, said black men have a 12% higher incidence of cancer compared to white men, as well as a death rate from all cancers combined that is 27% higher. The ACS report found black women to have a 6% lower risk of a cancer diagnosis than white women, but a 14% higher risk of cancer death. Death rates for breast and uterine cancers for black women are said to be 42% higher for breast cancer than for white women and 92% higher for uterine cancer. Breast cancer survival was high between 2001 and 2009, but there were wide and persistent differences in survival between black women and white women. Colon cancer survival showed little improvement between 2001 and 2009. Five-year survival among black patients has yet to reach that of white patients who were diagnosed 15 to 20 years earlier. Lung cancer survival improved slightly between 2001 and 2009, but was lower among black people than white people. Cervical cancer survival stayed at about 64% between 2001 to 2003 and 2004 to 2009. The survival rate for black women was lower than the survival rate for white women in both time periods. Ovarian cancer survival was about 40% between 2001 and 2009. Large and consistent racial differences were seen in most states, and black women have lower survival than white women.