The gap in mortality rates amongst Black women with breast cancer and white women with breast cancer is on the rise, per a new American Cancer Society report.
Released in the CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the report, titled “Breast Cancer Statistics 2024.” found that, as they are 5% less likely to be diagnosed, Black women with breast cancer are 38% more likely to die because of the condition.
A contributing factor to this higher rate of death includes a lack of diagnoses in the early stage of cancer development. Only 58% of Black women are given their diagnosis when the cancer is still in its localized state; meanwhile, 68% of white women are often diagnosed at this level.
For Black women who were diagnosed in the earlier stages, the rates of survival improved, equalling that of white women diagnosed early on in their treatment journey.
The @AmericanCancer Society ( #ACS ) 2024 report emphasizes significant racial disparities in #breastcancer outcomes and calls for increased efforts to improve #equity in screening and treatment.
— AJMC (@AJMC_Journal) October 2, 2024
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The announcement that the racial gap in breast cancer treatment has widened comes amidst a reported decrease in the overall rate of women diagnosed with cancer in general. The rate has reportedly dropped by 44% in the span of 1989 to 2022.
“Women today are a lot less likely to die from breast cancer, but alarming disparities still remain, especially for Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American and Black women,” said the chief scientific officer at the ACS, Dr. William Dahut, per a statement. “These gaps need to be rectified through systematic efforts to ensure access to high-quality screening and treatment for every woman.”
Previous studies have also found that Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive types of breast cancer. Per the National Institute of Health, they are twice as likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer.
Characterized by its lack of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, this type of breast cancer is often considered to spread faster than others and is more likely to re-emerge following treatment.
To study disparities in diagnosis and treatment, the American Cancer Society recently launched their VOICES of Black Women Study. Launched in May, the study will analyze health conditions that contribute to higher rates of breast cancer amongst Black women, will help improve health policies, and will figure out strategies for Black women to decrease their risk of development.
Approximately 100,000 Black women will be involved in the study throughout the span of multiple years.
“Voices of Black Women represents a crucial step toward achieving health equity in a population that is long overdue,” said Dr. Alpa Patel, the senior vice president of population science at the American Cancer Society and an investigator involved in the study, in a statement.”By centering Black women’s voices and experiences, we can dig deeper in uncovering the unique challenges and barriers contributing to cancer disparities and develop tailored interventions to mitigate them.”
