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Studies have shown that black patients with colon cancer have lower rates of survival than their white counterparts. To determine the extent and basis of this disparity, investigators studied data on adults (age, ≥65) in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare database who were diagnosed with invasive colon cancer from 1991 through 2005.
Five-year survival rates were compared between 7677 black patients and three groups of white patients. Black and white patients were individually matched by demographic factors alone; demographic and presentation factors (comorbid conditions and tumor features); and demographic, presentation, and treatment factors (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy).
Results were as follows:
For pati…