Diminishing racial disparities in the treatment of colon adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND

Prior research has demonstrated racial disparities in the treatment of colon cancer. We sought to determine if treatment disparities persist.

METHODS

Patients with colon adenocarcinoma diagnosed from 2012 to 2016 were identified using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Associations between race and clinical characteristics were assessed using Chi square tests. The likelihood of receiving treatment based on race was assessed using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of 18,841 patients, 69.7% were White, 10.2% Black, 8.7% Hispanic and 11.4% Asian. Among patients with early-stage disease (stage I or II), 96.1% of Whites, 94.6% of Blacks, 95.6% of Hispanics and 97.7% of Asians underwent surgery (p = 0.01), while 8.9% of Whites, 9.3% of Blacks, 12.4% of Hispanics and 8.9% of Asians received chemotherapy (p = 0.03). For years 2012 to 2016 collectively, Blacks with early-stage disease were less likely than Whites to undergo any surgery (aOR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.36 - 0.81) and more likely to receive neither surgery nor chemotherapy (aOR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.25 - 2.93). However, when assessing each year individually, the most recent years revealed no difference in the likelihood of receiving surgery in (aOR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.16 - 1.29 in 2016) or receiving neither surgery nor chemotherapy (aOR = 2.17; 95% CI: 0.70 - 6.70 in 2016).

CONCLUSION

Racial disparities in the treatment of colon adenocarcinoma have improved in recent years. Health care providers must continue to provide equitable, evidence-based care to ensure that treatment disparities are eliminated.