Endometrial cancer survival among U.S. black and white women by birth cohort

Endometrial cancer incidence is lower but mortality is higher among black relative to white women. This disparity results from a relatively higher level of case-fatality in African Americans. We investigated whether the inter-racial difference in survival has diminished in more recent birth cohorts.

Women diagnosed with endometrial malignancies during 1977-1996 were identified from the U.S. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program (45,261 white and 1986 black women). We calculated cumulative 5-year relative survival for 6 birth cohorts.

Survival was relatively higher in younger women than older women and in women diagnosed in earlier years compared with more recent years. Higher survival was evident in more recent birth cohorts for groups of women 60+ years of age and in all time periods, particularly for black women.

Although black women with endometrial cancer have a poorer prognosis than white women, the inter-racial difference in survival has narrowed in more recent birth cohorts.