By Anne Glausser
Community health leaders and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge gathered this Monday to shine the spotlight on minority health issues and showcase recent research in health disparities, especially in the field of colon cancer.
Cancers of the colon and rectum are 25% more common in African Americans than in Caucasians. African Americans are also dying more often from these cancers, at a rate 50% higher than that seen in Caucasians.
Now, building on their findings published at the beginning of this year, researchers including Dr. Sandy Markowitz with the Case Comprehensive Cancer Centersay definitively that colon cancers in African Americans have different biological underpinnings than in Caucasians. "What we have found is that in many cases, colon cancers, when they arise in African Americans are a different disease than the disease that’s in the textbooks and that arises in Caucasians," said Dr. Markowitz.
Markowitz says the genetic differences will drive future research into the disease but he acknowledges that biology is only part of the puzzle—alongside things like poverty and lack of access to healthcare—when it comes to explaining the higher rates of cancer and cancer deaths among African Americans.
Local researchers are also looking at stool sample tests as a cheaper, faster, less invasive alternative to colonoscopies as a method for screening for colon cancers.
More Information
More on colon cancer from the American Cancer Society
Be Well: Tumor Biology May Contribute to Health Disparities in Colon Cancer
African-Americans and Colon Cancer (Be Well Short Video)