Half of Premature Colorectal Cancer Deaths Due to Socioeconomic Inequality

http://pressroom.cancer.org/JemalDisparitiesJCO

ATLANTA – November 10, 2014 –Half of all premature deaths from colorectal cancer (described as deaths in people ages 25 to 64) in the United States are linked to ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic inequalities, and therefore could be prevented according to a new study by American Cancer Society researchers. The report, which appears in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found more preventable deaths occur in southern states than in northern and western states, but that in virtually all states those with the least education had significantly higher colorectal cancer death rates.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the U.S. Historically, death rates were higher in those with higher socioeconomic status, in whites, and in northern states. Over the past few decades, though, that switched, with death rates now highest in persons with the lowest socioeconomic status, in blacks, and in southern states. That shift is likely the result of access to better early detection and treatment.

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