The rate of gallbladder cancer amongst Black American patients is on the rise, according to a new study.
Led by researchers from the Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School, the study reported that, out of an estimated 77,000 patients who received a diagnosis between 2001 and 2020, Black Americans were the most affected by this illness.
Whereas the rate remained stable for white patients and declined by 0.6% for Hispanic patients, the gallbladder cancer rate for Black patients increased by over 1% each year on average.
Considered to be one of the more aggressive cancers with only a 19% five-year survival rate, the specific type of cancer is hard to detect in its early stages.
Almost 44% of cancers found in Black patients were found while they were in the late stages of the cancer. The rate of late-stage diagnosis for gallbladder specifically is also currently on the rise, increasing by an average of 3% each year.
“Gallbladder cancer diagnosis at a late stage can be highly detrimental,” said the lead author Yazan Abboud, MD, per a press release. “This could be due to a lack of timely access to healthcare leading to delayed diagnosis.”
Thank you @DDWMeeting and @AmerGastroAssn for this opportunity to discuss our work. We hope this data shed light on disparities in gallbladder cancer and help in identifying contributing to this malignancy and ultimately bridge barriers to treatment and improve outcomes https://t.co/EfjoG2WmGY
— Yazan Abboud, M.D. (@YazanAbboudMD) May 21, 2024
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black patients have a higher chance of receiving a diagnosis in the late stage for several cancers, including breast, lung and colorectal cancers. Due to the lack of diagnoses in the early stages, they have lower five-year survival rates and higher terminal cases.
In 2022 alone, per the National Institutes of Health, out of 224,080 cancer cases, there were an estimated 73,680 cancer deaths amongst Black patients.
A variety of disparities have been identified as contributors to this higher rate, including health care. Per the American Cancer Society, Black patients are among those that are less likely to be insured, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment.
With the delays in treatment, patients are more likely to receive help in late stages such as Stage III or Stage IV when the illness is more difficult to treat and chances of survival are lower.
Even if the patients make it past the five-year survival rate, Black patients are more likely to be burdened with health insurance issues such as medical debt after treatment plans.
According to the American Cancer Society, in order to pay for their medical debut, 59% of Black cancer patients and survivors were forced to go into debt to pay for their medical treatment.
“Medical debt impacts many people with cancer, their caregivers and their families,” said the American Cancer Society. “People with cancer often bear significant health care costs because they can have substantial health care needs, are high utilizers of health care services, use many different providers, and sometimes require more expensive treatments. Addressing medical debt in the U.S. is crucial to accomplishing ACS CAN’s mission of ending cancer as we know it for everyone.”
