American Lung Association Releases Report on Lung Cancer in African Americans: Calls for Eliminating Health Disparities

American Lung Association study states African American men are 37 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than white men.

WASHINGTON, April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Lung Association today released its report, Too Many Cases, Too Many Deaths: Lung Cancer in African Americans, a compilation of research examining lung cancer among African Americans and the need to eliminate this and other health disparities. The report, which includes a preface by William J. Hicks, M.D., provides important information on the possible biological, environmental, political and cultural factors that make African Americans more likely to get lung cancer and more likely to die from it.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the nation.  It has been the leading cause of cancer death among men since the early 1950s, and in 1987 it surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. African Americans, however, suffer from lung cancer more than any other population group in the United States.  Key facts regarding this disparity include the following:

• Despite lower smoking rates, African Americans are more likely to develop and die of lung cancer than whites.  
• African American men are 37 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than white men, even though their overall exposure to cigarette smoke – the primary risk factor for lung cancer – is lower.
• African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed later, when cancer is more advanced.
• African Americans are more likely to wait longer after diagnosis to receive treatment, to refuse treatment, and to die in the hospital after surgery.

"As an organization dedicated to public health, we have an important role to play in raising awareness and reducing the toll of lung cancer as the number one cancer killer among African Americans," said Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO.  "We want to thank Dr. Hicks for lending his expertise to help raise awareness around this important issue in an effort to eliminate this and other health disparities that exist in our country."

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