Racial Disparities in Patients With Cancer and COVID-19

In the general population, Black patients tend to experience more severe disease from COVID-19 than white patients. However, few studies seek to address whether Black patients with cancer experience worse outcomes from COVID-19 than white patients with cancer.

Structural racism carried out through sociodemographic factors, such as underinsurance and disproportionate access to health care, may influence hospitalization and mortality rates from COVID-19 in Black patients with cancer compared to white patients with cancer.

In this retrospective cohort study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers gathered electronic health record data from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium registry between March and November 2020. The outcomes and characteristics of COVID-19 in Black patients with cancer were assessed against those of white patients with cancer. A total of 3,506 patients were included in the study.

Ultimately, it was found that Black patients with cancer and COVID-19 were more likely to be affected by comorbidities, such as obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease than white patients with cancer and COVID-19. Black patients with cancer were also significantly more likely to experience more severe COVID-19 than white patients with cancer, which manifested as pulmonary, kidney, and cardiovascular complications.

Finally, a higher all-cause mortality rate was also noted in Black patients with cancer and COVID-19 (19%) than in white patients with cancer and COVID-19 (17%).

This study highlights the racial disparities that contribute to worse COVID-19 outcomes in Black patients with cancer. Structural racism may perpetuate the racial disparities experienced by Black patients with cancer. Healthcare providers should understand these differences to better treat Black patients with cancer and COVID-19. Still, profound structural changes are needed to fully overcome racial inequities in health care [1].

Source:

[1] Fu, J., Reid, S. A., French, B., Hennessy, C., Hwang, C., Gatson, N. T., Duma, N., Mishra, S., Nguyen, R., Hawley, J. E., Singh, S. R. K., Chism, D. D., Venepalli, N. K., Warner, J. L., Choueiri, T. K., Schmidt, A. L., Fecher, L. A., Girard, J. E., Bilen, M. A., . . . Peters, S. (2022). Racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes among Black and white patients with cancer. JAMA Network Open, 5(3), e224304. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.4304

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