Evaluation of recent trends in cancer mortality and incidence among blacks

Recent trends in the cancer incidence, mortality, and 5-year survival rate for the black population were evaluated using the available national data up to 1981. Blacks have the highest overall age-adjusted cancer rates in both incidence and mortality of any US population group. The overall cancer incidence rates for blacks rose 17%, while for whites it increased 13% from 1969 to 1981. The rate in black men has increased 22.9%, while the rate in black women has increased 13.1%. The overall increase is the result of increases in cancers of the lung, prostate, colon-rectum, and esophagus. The age-specific incidence of lung cancer reflects the decrease of its incidence in those between 20 and 40 years of age because of the change in smoking habits after the Surgeon General's report on smoking. The overall cancer mortality rates for blacks increased 39% during the period. Lung cancer had the highest mortality rate, having increased more than 77.8% since 1969. This trend greatly reflects the recent increase in lung cancer incidence among black women. The overall 5-year cancer survival pattern for blacks was almost unchanged from 1973 to 1981, while whites had slightly higher survival rates during this period. However, blacks had substantial increases in survival rates for cancers of the esophagus and bladder during the period.