A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine examined interval colorectal cancer risks in minorities.
Stacey Fedewa, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study of 235,146 patients between 66- and 77-years-old who received a colonoscopy between 2002 and 2011. Researchers followed the patients through 2013.
Here's what they found.
1. Approximately 2,735 patients had interval CRC.
2. Of CRC patients, 52.8 percent African American patients received a colonoscopy from a physician with a lower polyp-detection rate. The low polyp detection rates significantly increased interval CRC risk.
3. The probability of interval CRC by the end of a follow-up appointment was 7.1 percent in African Americans and 5.8 percent in white people.
4. African Americans had higher risks for interval CRC and they have more pronounced disparities for rectum cancer and distal colon cancer than for proximal colon cancer.
5. Differences among African Americans and white people were greater among physicians with higher polyp detection rates.
Researchers concluded, "Among elderly Medicare enrollees, the risk for interval CRC was higher in black persons than in white persons; the difference was more pronounced for cancer of the distal colon and rectum and for physicians with higher polyp detection rates."