Home

Cover Story

Table of Contents

E-Newsletter

Article Archive

Editorial Calendar

Datebook

Writers' Guidelines

Orgs/Links

Opinion Polls

Reprints

Forum

Search

April 29 -Study Finds Racial Disparities for Colonoscopy Screening

A new study has found that African-Americans are far less likely to undergo colonoscopy screening than whites, even when both groups have a family history of colorectal cancer. This disparity may help explain why African-Americans are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with and die from colorectal cancer than whites or other minority groups. The study was published in the March 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“Individuals who have a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer have a twofold to threefold increased risk of developing the disease, and they are likely to be diagnosed with the malignancy 10 years earlier than patients without this family history,” explains lead author Harvey Murff, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We wanted to know if people who knew about their inherited risk factors would be more likely to undergo screening.”

The researchers looked at baseline data from 41,830 patients who are part of the Southern Community Cohort Study, an ongoing study investigating cancer incidence and mortality disparities across racial and urban versus rural populations in 12 southern states. They found African-Americans who had multiple first-degree relatives diagnosed with colorectal cancer were about one half as likely as whites with the same family history to have undergone recommended screening tests like colonoscopy during the previous five years. For both groups, the most common reason given for not having the screening tests was the lack of a recommendation from their healthcare provider, with African-Americans far more likely to express this answer.

“Since a family history of colorectal cancer is strongly associated with increased risk, even small inequities in screening can translate into large differences in cancer outcomes,” says Murff. “Clearly we need to do a better job of closing this gap in screening, especially for high-risk patients in underserved populations.”

The National Cancer Institute estimates 148,810 Americans will be diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in 2008, with 49,960 deaths. Most clinical guidelines recommend screening for colorectal cancer beginning at age 50, but for patients with a family history of this type of cancer, the screenings should begin at age 40. Removal of colon polyps is now considered the best method to prevent colon cancer, so access to this procedure is crucial for patients at high risk for the disease. In addition to family history, a diet high in total fat and meat, and cigarette smoking are risk factors for these cancers.

Source: Vanderbilt Medical Center

(View the Daily News Archive)

Survey

Is teleradiology more of a help or a threat to your facility? Help     Threat     We do not use teleradiology in our facility.     View results