Blacks less likely to undergo lung cancer surgery, study says

October 13, 1999
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT)

(CNN) -- Fewer blacks than whites receive vital surgery for early stage lung cancer, leading to lower survival rates, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute analyzed data from nearly 11,000 early stage lung cancer patients over the age of 65. They found that black men and women were 13 percent less likely to undergo surgery seen as a successful treatment than their white counterparts.

"It is an important question to determine why it is that black patients are having this optimal life-saving treatment at a rate lower than white patients. But our study was unable to address the actual mechanism," Sloan-Kettering's Dr. Peter Bach said.

Scientist chose this type of non-small cell lung cancer for study because of the high success rate for treatment. Forty percent of those treated are still alive after five years, compared to a 5 percent survival rate for those who don't have surgery.

The fact that fewer black received the surgery meant only 26 percent of the black patients were alive after five years while 34 percent of whites were alive.

Dr. Kevin Schulman of Duke University Medical Center said these findings are consistent with other studies he had conducted. He speculated that a lack of trust and rapport with doctors of another race are just two explanations for the disparity in treatment.

"It probably is some type of subconscious effect on their (doctors') communication and their investment in their interactions with patients," Schulman said.

In an effort to address gaps in care, American Medical Association recently began a new initiative called Cultural Compentance Compedium to deal with the issue of race or ethnicity based bias.