Black Women Are More Likely To Die From Cancer. A New First Of It’s Kind Study Aims To Find Out Why

Why are so many Black women dying from cancer? A groundbreaking new study from the American Cancer Society (ACS), VOICES of Black Women, aims to figure out the underlying causes.

The numbers don’t lie. Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, “Black/African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers.” But unfortunately, the disparity doesn’t end there—when breaking this down along gender lines, “Black women have the highest death rate for most cancers.”

For added perspective, Black women are diagnosed at a 4% lower rate than white women with breast cancer. Yet, Black women are dying from this disease “at a 40% higher rate than white women.”  

Until this study, Black women have been woefully underrepresented when it comes to medical research. In fact, “the vast majority of biomedical research was conducted exclusively on white men until laws and regulations were passed requiring the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical studies funded by public money–like those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).” Essentially, until the 1990s, most approved devices, medications, and vaccines “were exclusively [being] tested on heterosexual, non-disabled, seemingly healthy white men.”

This is why the ACS study is so trailblazing. According to their press release, this first-of-its-kind study is “designed to better understand the multi-level drivers of cancer incidence, mortality and resilience within this demographic. The long-term study will gather valuable data from Black women between the ages of 25 and 55 from diverse backgrounds and income levels who have not been diagnosed with cancer.”

“The organization aims to enroll over 100,000 Black women across 20 states and D.C. where, according to the U.S. Census, more than 90 percent of Black women in the U.S. reside,” the release continued.

Study participants will be asked “about lifestyle factors, medical history and experience of racism to determine what might affect someone’s risk of cancer and dying from cancer,” two times a year. Eligibility considerations to be included in this pioneering study include requirements of identifying “as Black and women, be between the ages of 25 and 55, and not have a history of cancer, with the exception of basal or squamous cell skin cancer.”

“VOICES of Black Women® represents a crucial step toward achieving health equity in a population that is long overdue,” stated Dr. Alpa Patel, the co-principal investigator of the study and American Cancer Society’s senior vice president of population science.

“The data we’ve uncovered through previous population studies has been critical in reducing the unacceptably high burden of cancer, but that reduction has sadly not been equal,” Patel said. “By centering Black women’s voices and experiences, we can dig deeper in uncovering the unique challenges and barriers contributing to cancer disparities and develop tailored interventions to mitigate them.”