NCI defines cancer health disparities as differences in adversities between population groups in a wide range of cancer measures. These measures include incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, survivorship and quality of life after cancer treatment, burden of cancer or related health conditions, screening rates, and stage at diagnosis.
Complex and interrelated factors contribute to the observed cancer disparities, including access to healthcare, differences in diet and lifestyle, ancestry-related risk factors, persistent co-morbidities, and chronic stress exposure. An increasing number of studies demonstrate that even when socioeconomic and access to care factors are accounted for, incidence and mortality gaps persist between populations for some cancer types. This suggests a role for biological contributors. Advances in genomics and other molecular technologies are improving our understanding of how biological differences among population groups contribute to health disparities and how biological factors interact with other potentially relevant factors, such as diet.
University of Hawai‘i
Lung & Breast