Cancer affects all population groups in the United States, but due to social, environmental, and economic disadvantages, certain groups bear a disproportionate burden of cancer compared with other groups.

Cancer disparities (sometimes called cancer health disparities) are differences in cancer measures such as:

  • incidence (new cases)
  • prevalence (all existing cases)
  • mortality (deaths)
  • survival (how long people survive after diagnosis)
  • morbidity (cancer-related health complications)
  • survivorship (including quality of life after cancer treatment)
  • financial burden of cancer or related health conditions
  • screening rates
  • stage at diagnosis

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer amongst men, following skin cancer. Black men, however, are twice as likely as Caucasian men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Black women are equally as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer as white women, though black women are 40% more likely to die as a result of the disease. While these disparities are shocking, there are many more cancer disparities amongst minorities in the United States. Hispanic men and women, for example, are twice as likely to be diagnosed with and die from liver cancer while Native Americans/Alaskan Natives are more likely to die from kidney cancer than any other group.

These discrepancies are likely attributed to social determinants of health, rather than a biological difference. Social determinants of health include the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and play and affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes. One of the key influencing factors is one’s socioeconomic status. Because of historical context and social structure, race is strongly correlated with socioeconomic status in the United States. In fact, 21% of African Americans were living under the federal poverty level in 2017 as compared to 9% of non-Hispanic whites. Socioeconomic status also impacts one’s education level – while only 22% of African-Americans graduate from a four-year university, 36% of non-Hispanic whites do. Socioeconomic status is considered the main factor influencing health and wellbeing as it is correlated with disparities in education, opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy foods, and access to health care.