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. Death rates for all major causes of death are higher for Black/African Americans than for non-Hispanic whites, contributing in part to a lower life expectancy for both Black/African American men and women.

• From 2014-2018, African American men were 1.2 times and 1.5 times, respectively, more likely to have new cases of colon and prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
• Black/African American men are 1.8 times as likely to have stomach cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men and 2.5 times more likely to die from stomach cancer.
• Black/African Americans men have lower 5-year cancer survival rates for most cancer sites, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
• Black/African American men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
• From 2014-2018, Black/African American women were just as likely to have been diagnosed with breast cancer, however, they were almost 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.
• Black/African American women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer, and they are 2.2 times more likely to die from stomach cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.

Diagnosis

Source: NCHS 2021. National Health Interview Survey. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults – 2019. [Accessed 7/22/2021]
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html

Top Cancer Sites for African Americans (2014-2018)

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.24 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

Top Cancer Sites for African Americans (2014-2018)

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.25 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

5 Year Survival Rate

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Tables 1.5 and 1.6
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Tables 1.5 and 1.6
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Death Rate

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Screening

Breast Cancer

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 33.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Cervical Cancer

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 34.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Colon Cancer

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 35.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]