Closing the Racial Gap in CRC: Screening is Just the First Step
Too many people in the United States are dying of colorectal cancer (CRC). The #2 cancer killer in the United States, it impacts Black Americans disproportionately. Compared to White adults, Black adults aged 50 and above get colon cancer at a rate that’s 23% higher than White adults and have a 31% higher risk of dying from the disease.1 These disparities persist despite progress in screening and treatment and are particularly frustrating because CRC is highly treatable when caught in early stages and even preventable when pre-cancers are identified and removed through screening. These differences in incidence and mortality persist even while we have made progress to make screening more accessible to all. A 2019 NIH study showed that a similar proportion of Black and White Americans are up to date with CRC screening2, a meaningful improvement since 20053. If screening access and uptake are now so similar, why do these disparities persist?
