Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2016: Progress and opportunities in reducing racial disparities

Racial disparities persist throughout the employment process, with African Americans experiencing significant barriers compared to whites. This article advances the understanding of racial labor market stratification by bringing new theoretical insights and original data to bear on the ways social networks shape racial disparities in employment opportunities. We develop and articulate two pathways through which networks may perpetuate racial inequality in the labor market: network access and network returns. In the first case, African American job seekers may receive fewer job leads through their social networks than white job seekers, limiting their access to employment opportunities. In the second case, black and white job seekers may utilize their social networks at similar rates, but their networks may differ in effectiveness. Our data, with detailed information about both job applications and job offers, provide the unique ability to adjudicate between these processes. We find evidence that black and white job seekers utilize their networks at similar rates, but network-based methods are less likely to lead to job offers for African Americans. We then theoretically develop and empirically test two mechanisms that may explain these differential returns: network placement and network mobilization. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for scholarship on racial stratification and social networks in the job search process.

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Racial disparities in high-risk uterine cancer histologic subtypes: A United States Cancer Statistics study

Gynecologic Oncology ◽

10.1016/j.ygyno.2021.02.037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 161 (2) ◽

pp. 470-476

Author(s):

Mary Kathryn Abel ◽

Cheng-I Liao ◽

Chloe Chan ◽

Danny Lee ◽

Atharva Rohatgi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

High Risk ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Uterine Cancer ◽

Cancer Statistics ◽

Histologic Subtypes

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Pan cancer analysis of the intra-tumoral microbiome’s correlation with racial disparities.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.2519 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 2519-2519

Author(s):

Wei Tse Li ◽

Matthew Uzelac ◽

Jaideep Chakladar ◽

Lindsay M. Wong ◽

Aditi Gnanasekar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bladder Cancer ◽

African Americans ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Asian Americans ◽

Environmental Influence ◽

Microbial Abundance ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Starting Point

2519 Background: Microbiome composition can influence cancer development and is moderated by diet, hygiene, sanitation, and other environmental variables. For example, a Mediterranean diet could increase breast Lactobacillus abundance, while the gut microbiome changes dramatically with fructose intake. Recent studies have revealed correlations between microbial abundance and racial disparities in cancer. Given these reports, it is critical to examine whether environmental influences on the microbiome contribute to racial disparities in cancer incidence and prognosis. Methods: We examined the intra-tumoral microbiome in the lungs, breasts, bladder, colon, rectum, cervix, head and neck, prostate, and pancreas (n = 4,169). Raw tumor RNA sequencing data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and aligned to bacterial genomes. Microbial abundance was correlated to race, ethnicity, and prognostic variables (Kruskal-Wallis test or Cox regression, p< 0.05). Results: We identified several microbes correlated with racial disparities for breast and bladder cancer, two microbes for lung squamous cell carcinoma, and one microbe for colon cancer. For breast cancer, African Americans have the highest mortality rate, followed by white Americans and Asian Americans. We found that four microbes, all under the order Burkholderiales, were positively correlated with poor prognosis and were most abundant in African Americans and least abundant in Asian Americans. Therefore, increased abundance of these microbes may contribute to the observed mortality differences between races. For bladder cancer, Asian Americans have the lowest incidence and mortality rates. Seven microbes, including two Geobacillus, two Pseudomonas, and two Burkholderiales, positively correlate with good prognosis and are upregulated in Asian Americans. High Pseudomonas fluorescens abundance is positively correlated with decreased risk of death (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38-0.85). High abundance of the Burkholderiales R. pickettii (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.42-0.92) and V. paradoxus (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.36-0.98) also exhibit the same trend. Geobacillus and Pseudomonas are both present in food, while Burkholderiales can cause nosocomial infections and are altered by diet. Conclusions: Our study is the most comprehensive to date investigating racial differences in the intra-tumoral microbiome. Our data serve as a starting point for exploring whether environmental influence of microbial abundance contributes to racial disparities in cancer.

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African American Clergy Perspectives About the HIV Care Continuum: Results From a Qualitative Study in Jackson, Mississippi

Ethnicity & Disease ◽

10.18865/ed.28.2.85 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 85 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Amy Nunn ◽

Sharon Parker ◽

Katryna McCoy ◽

Mauda Monger ◽

Melverta Bender ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Hiv Care ◽

Hiv Care Continuum ◽

Care Continuum ◽

Adherence To Medication ◽

African American Clergy ◽

American Clergy

Mississippi has some of the most pronounced racial disparities in HIV infection in the country; African Americans comprised 37% of the Mississippi population but represented 80% of new HIV cases in 2015. Improving outcomes along the HIV care continuum, including linking and retaining more individuals and enhancing adherence to medication, may reduce the disparities faced by African Americans in Mississippi. Little is understood about clergy’s views about the HIV care continuum. We assessed knowledge of African American pastors and ministers in Jackson, Mississippi about HIV and the HIV care continuum. We also assessed their willingness to promote HIV screening and biomedical prevention technologies as well as efforts to enhance linkage and retention in care with their congregations. Four focus groups were conducted with 19 African American clergy. Clergy noted pervasive stigma associated with HIV and believed they had a moral imperative to promote HIV awareness and testing; they provided recommendations on how to normalize conversations related to HIV testing and treatment. Overall, clergy were willing to promote and help assist with linking and retaining HIV positive individuals in care but knew little about how HIV treatment can enhance prevention or new biomedical technologies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Clergy underscored the importance of building coalitions to promote a collective local response to the epidemic. The results of this study highlight important public health opportunities to engage African American clergy in the HIV care continuum in order to reduce racial disparities in HIV infection. Ethn Dis.2018; 28(2): 85-92; doi:10.18865/ed.28.2.85.

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Abstract 491: Racial Disparities in the Trends of Acute Myocardial Infarction Outcomes Among Medicaid Patients, 2007-2011

Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology ◽

10.1161/atvb.37.suppl_1.491 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 37 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Oluwole M Adegbala ◽

Akintunde Akinjero ◽

Samson Alliu ◽

Adeyinka C Adejumo ◽

Emmanuel Akintoye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽

African Americans ◽

Length Of Stay ◽

Hospital Mortality ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Length Of Hospital Stay ◽

The United States ◽

Racial Groups

Background: Although, in-hospital mortality from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have declined in the United States recently, there is a gap in knowledge regarding racial differences in this trend. We sought to evaluate the effect of race on the trends in outcomes after Acute Myocardial Infarction among Medicaid patients in a nationwide cohort from 2007-2011 Methods: We extracted data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for all hospitalizations between 2007 and 2011 for Medicaid patients aged 45 years or older with principal diagnosis of AMI using ICD-9-CM codes. Primary outcome of this study was all cause in-hospital mortality. We then stratified hospitalizations by racial groups; Whites, African Americans and Hispanics, and assessed the time trends of in-hospital mortality before and after multivariate analysis. Results: The overall mortality from AMI among Medicaid patients declined during the study period (8.80% in 2007 to 7.46% in 2011). In the adjusted models, compared to 2007, in-hospital mortality from AMI for Medicaid patients decreased across the 3 racial groups; Whites (aOR= 0.88, CI=0.70-0.99), African Americans (aOR=0.76, CI=0.57-1.01), Hispanics (aOR=0.87, CI=0.66-1.25). While the length of hospital stay declined significantly among African American and Hispanic with 2 days and 1.76 days decline respectively, the length of stay remained unchanged for Whites. There was non-significant increase in the incidence of stroke across the various racial groups; Whites (aOR= 1.23, CI=0.90 -1.69), African Americans (aOR=1.10, CI=0.73 -1.64), Hispanics (aOR=1.03, CI=0.68-1.55) when compared to 2007. Conclusion: In this study, we found that in-hospital mortality from AMI among Medicaid patients have declined across the racial groups. However, while the length of stay following AMI declined for African Americans and Hispanics with Medicaid insurance, it has remained unchanged for Whites. Future studies are necessary to identify determinants of these significant racial disparities in outcomes for AMI.

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Racial disparities in treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with multiple myeloma: a SEER-Medicare analysis

Blood Advances ◽

10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000308 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (20) ◽

pp. 2986-2994 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sikander Ailawadhi ◽

Kejal Parikh ◽

Safiya Abouzaid ◽

Zhou Zhou ◽

Wenxi Tang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Myeloma ◽

African Americans ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Autologous Stem Cell Transplant ◽

Cell Transplant ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Novel Therapy ◽

Therapy Initiation ◽

Hispanic Patients ◽

Racial Ethnic

Abstract The objective of the study was to assess racial disparities in the treatment and outcomes among white, African American, and Hispanic patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Patients with an MM diagnosis from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)–Medicare (2007-2013) database were included. Continuous Medicare enrollment for 6 months before (baseline) and after MM diagnosis was required unless death occurred. Time from MM diagnosis to novel therapy initiation and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), overall survival (OS), and MM-specific survival (MSS) was evaluated. Unadjusted and multivariable regressions compared African Americans and Hispanics vs whites. Trends of novel therapy and ASCT use across MM diagnosis years were assessed using linear regression models. The study included 3504 whites, 858 African Americans, and 468 Hispanics. African Americans and Hispanics had a longer time from MM diagnosis to novel therapy initiation vs whites (median: 5.2 and 4.6 vs 2.7 months, respectively). All cohorts had an increasing trend of novel therapy initiation within 6 months of MM diagnosis, particularly whites (all P < .05). Median MSS was significantly longer for African Americans (5.4 years) than whites (4.5 years; P < .05), and was comparable for Hispanics and whites. Median OS was similar overall (2.6-2.8 years). ASCT rate within 1 year of MM diagnosis rose among whites and African Americans (P < .05), but not Hispanics, who were less likely to receive ASCT vs whites. Significant variations in novel therapy and ASCT use were observed among different racial/ethnic groups with MM. Although OS was similar, both African Americans and Hispanics may not be fully benefitting from the introduction of novel therapies, as they receive them later than whites.

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Barriers Driving Racial Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening in African Americans

Current Gastroenterology Reports ◽

10.1007/s11894-020-00776-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pascale M. White ◽

Steven H. Itzkowitz

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

African Americans ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Colorectal Cancer Screening

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Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2013

CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians ◽

10.3322/caac.21173 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 151-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 198

Author(s):

Carol DeSantis ◽

Deepa Naishadham ◽

Ahmedin Jemal

Keyword(s):

African Americans ◽

Cancer Statistics

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Mass Imprisonment and Trust in the Law

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science ◽

10.1177/0002716213502928 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 651 (1) ◽

pp. 139-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Christopher Muller ◽

Daniel Schrage

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Family Member ◽

Close Friend ◽

White Americans ◽

Incarceration Rate ◽

Mass Imprisonment ◽

The Law ◽

The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between two facets of mass imprisonment—its novel comparative and historical scale and its pervasiveness in the lives of African Americans—and surveys respondents’ beliefs about the harshness of the courts, and bias in the courts or among police. Analyses of national survey data show that as states’ incarceration rates increased, so too did the probability that residents believed that courts were too harsh. However, while white Americans’ opinions about the courts were sensitive to changes in the white incarceration rate, African Americans’ opinions were not sensitive to changes in the African American incarceration rate. African American respondents who had been to prison or who had a close friend or family member who had been to prison were more likely to attribute racial disparities in incarceration to police bias and bias in the courts. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible consequences of declining trust in the law for the future of American punishment.

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Marital Status and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among African Americans

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x10365829 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (9) ◽

pp. 1147-1165 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Eboni M. Taylor ◽

Adaora A. Adimora ◽

Victor J. Schoenbach

Keyword(s):

African Americans ◽

Marital Status ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Risk Behaviors ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Transmitted Infection ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Marriage Rates ◽

Racial Ethnic

This article assesses the relationship between low marriage rates and racial disparities in sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth was used to examine the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors by marital status. Logistic regression was used to examine whether racial differences in marriage patterns help account for racial disparities in STI rates. Results indicate that the 12-month prevalence of multiple partners and high-risk partnerships was lowest among currently married, intermediate among cohabiting, and highest among formerly and never-married respondents. Of all racial/ethnic groups, African Americans were least likely to be married. In multiple logistic analyses adjustment for marriage attenuated the association between race and STI risk behaviors for African Americans. Low marriage rates may be an important contributing factor to racial/ethnic disparities in STI rates, particularly for African Americans.

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