Researchers highlight significant cancer disparities among young black men in the American South

Researchers highlight significant cancer disparities among young black men in the American South

Research shows that the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma among people with HIV has declined significantly over the past two decades, but a new analysis of data led by researchers at UTHealth Houston shows a significant disparity between a specific population group - young black men in the American South.

The results of the study were published today in the National Cancer Institute's JNCI Cancer Spectrum.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a rare cancer often diagnosed in people living with HIV/AIDS or other immune deficiencies. It develops from the cells that line lymph or blood vessels and typically appears as a tumor on the skin or in the mouth, but can also appear in lymph nodes throughout the body.

Analyzing 18 years (2001-2018) of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program Database (SEER), researchers at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health found that Kaposi's sarcoma rates among men ages 20 to 34 declined by 3.5% per year nationally in white men and in Hispanic men remained stable, incidence rates among black men actually increased by 1.5% per year. In the South, the increase was even more dramatic, increasing by 3.3% per year. By 2018, this group would account for 62% of the national percentage of black men in this age group diagnosed with cancer; an increase of almost 20%. Further analysis showed that black men born in the South since 1994 had more than twice the risk of Kaposi's sarcoma compared to those born before 1979.

Combined with the work of other researchers, the evidence derived from the analysis suggests that the observed increase in Kaposi's sarcoma among black men in the South is primarily related to a parallel increase in HIV infection among young black men living there who have sex with men. While NPCR and SEER registry data do not include HIV/AIDS status, previous research suggests that the vast majority of Kaposi's sarcoma cases in this age group are HIV positive. Higher levels of poverty and HIV-related stigma in the South also likely contribute to the higher cancer incidence. In addition to these two factors, lack of access to medical care and sexual/social network dynamics may also contribute to the sustained and disproportionate increase in Kaposi's sarcoma incidence in the studied group.

Future public health interventions should focus on addressing the social determinants of health at multiple levels to reduce these existing racial and regional disparities.

Ryan Suk, PhD, lead author and assistant professor of health economics at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health

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NPCR-SEER registries covered approximately 98% of the US population between 2001 and 2018. The dataset included 3,838 men with complete race and ethnicity information between the ages of 20 and 34 years who were diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma. Of these, 46% were black and 24.1% were white. The remaining men were members of Hispanic and other racial and ethnic groups.

The research team also included Donna L. White, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston; Sheena Knights, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Ank Nijhawan, MD, MPH, associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern; Ashish A. Deshmukh, PhD, MPH, associate professor of public health sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; and Elizabeth Y. Chiao, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

Source:

UTHealth Houston

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