Black patients with cancer experienced significantly worse outcomes after COVID-19 diagnosis than non-Hispanic white cancer patients in a study published March 28 in JAMA Network Open.
Black patients with cancer had worse COVID-19 outcomes than white patients, according to results of a retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.“Understanding and addressing racial inequities within the causal framework of structural racism is essential to reduce the disproportionate burden of diseases, such as COVID-19 and cancer, in Black patients,” Julie Fu, MD, MA,
While cancer death rates in the U.S. have declined in recent years, racial disparities persist. Midwestern states including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana have some of the highest rates of cancer mortality for Black residents in the country. Public health advocates have worked for years to close the racial gap, but some worry the pandemic will delay progress.