Racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer treatment decline—meaning treatment was refused—are linked to older age, being on public insurance, being uninsured, or having lower median household income, comorbidities, nonmetastatic disease, and lower tumor grade. These factors emphasize the importance of targeted health equity interventions that focus on overall survival (OS) through treatment benefits, along with improved communication methods, shared decision-making, and disparity reduction.

“We need to be thinking about the best practices and models for screening and for delivering interventions that are focused on addressing social issues,” she continued. “We need a [provider] workforce that is in the best position to address social factors.” And she doesn’t think that responsibility should fall to physicians.

To help promote a more inclusive transplant system, Fingrut and colleagues conducted a study evaluating barriers and facilitators to stem cell donation for members of the LGBTQ+ community

The study identified 14,614 insured adults diagnosed with Stage I to IV melanoma from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2014, from the California Cancer Registry. The cohort was followed through 2017, and the study compared melanoma-specific mortality between patients with insurance from the largest vertically integrated healthcare system in California, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, and insured patients with other private insurance (OPI).

Black women for instance, have a 41% higher death rate from breast cancer compared with White patients. They also have a greater incidence of aggressive disease like triple-negative breast cancer. Native American and Hispanic women, meanwhile, are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age than White women and experience more aggressive breast cancers..