Study finds blacks more likely to die of cancer

Previous case studies have shown that African Americans are more likely to die from certain cancers. Leading practitioners in the field however, have found that biological factors may be to blame.

Researchers at Loyola University have followed 19,457 adult cancer patients enrolled in 35 Southwest Oncology Group clinical trials who were followed for at least 10 years after treatment. 12% of the patients were African American. During the course of the study, they found that African Americans were significantly more likely to die from breast, ovarian and prostate cancer than the clinical trial participants.

Because these cancers are all gender-related, Experts believe there is a complex interaction of genetic and hormonal factors that make the diseases more deadly in African Americans. The study however did not find a difference between lung and colon cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.