Treatment, survival for colon cancer differs by race

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Black people with advanced colon cancer are less likely to get consultations with specialists and treatment with complex medicines than white people, according to a new study. “This disparity in treatment does result in survival differences that are quite substantial,” Dr. James Murphy told Reuters Health. Murphy is the study’s senior author and an assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., Murphy and his colleagues write in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.