It's Not About the Money: Continued Treatment and Survival Outcome Disparities in Minority Rectal Cancer Patients After Controlling for Socioeconomic Factors

Abstract

Background: While the disparities for minority patients with cancer have been well established, few studies have illustrated disparities in cancer outcomes while controlling for potential confounding factors. The current study was designed to address these confounding variables and how they influence the treatment and survival time for patients with rectal cancer.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, black and Hispanic patients were compared with white patients with rectal cancer for the rates of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery in addition to survival time after diagnosis. Following this analysis, confounding variables were controlled for and analysis was repeated with groups of comparable demographic variables.

Results: Before controlling for confounding variables, there were significant differences in treatment and survival for both Hispanic and black patients compared with white. Following matching, black patients continued to have lower rates of treatment and shorter survival times.

Conclusions: These differences in treatment methods and survival outcomes for minorities, particularly black patients, highlight the need for more advocacy and focus on these underrepresented populations with rectal cancer.