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• Posted February 21, 2025

Black Cancer Death Rate Declining, But Higher Risk Remains

Cancer deaths among Black men and women in the U.S. have declined during the past decade in the United States, a new American Cancer Society (ACS) report says.

The cancer death rate decreased 49% among Black men and 33% among Black women between 1991 and 2022, according to ACS’ Cancer Statistics for African American and Black People, 2025.

However, Black people continue to have a higher cancer burden than other racial or ethnic groups, researchers found.

“Overall declines in cancer mortality rates in Black people largely reflect behavioral changes, such as historical declines in cigarette smoking among Black teens, as well as advances in treatment and earlier detection for some cancers,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Yet, this population persistently experiences a much higher mortality burden than other racial and ethnic groups for many cancers,” Siegel added in a news release. "We must reverse course.” 

The ACS report also found that the risk of death among Black patients is twice that of white folks when it comes to myeloma, prostate, endometrial and stomach cancers.

Likewise, Black death rates for colon, breast, cervical and liver cancers are 40% to 50% higher than those for white patients, the report says.

Overall, survival is lower in Black people than in white people for almost every type and stage of cancer, with the largest gaps involving melanoma, endometrial and cervical cancers, researchers found.

“This report highlights the disparities the Black community has faced for decades,” Dr. Wayne Frederick, the society's interim chief executive officer, said in a news release. 

“While the decline in cancer mortality rates is encouraging, the stark inequities in incidence and survival for many cancers underscore the urgent need for targeted research and interventions,” he added.

The report also found that:

• Black men experienced the most significant relative decline in cancer deaths at nearly every age, compared to Black women and white people. This included a 65% to 67% decrease in deaths among those between 40 and 59 years of age.

• The most commonly diagnosed cancers continue to be prostate (44% among males), breast (34% among females), lung (10%), and colon (8%). These types of cancer account for 58% of all new cancers diagnosed among Black people.

• Black men have a 67% higher prostate cancer case rate compared to White men and are more than twice as likely to die from it.

• Black women have a 38% higher risk of dying from breast cancer compared to White women, despite a 5% lower likelihood of being diagnosed with the disease.

• Endometrial cancer cases continue to increase among Black women by 2% per year.

“Future research should not only explore the influence of systemic racism on health, but also develop mechanisms to implement change, including increasing diversity in clinical trials,” Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer of the society, said in a news release.

“Given this latest data, it’s also more important than ever to understand how to reduce your chance of getting cancer,” Dahut added. “This means taking preventative health measures, like understanding your risk profile, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and keeping up on cancer screenings to catch the disease as early as possible.”

The new report was published Feb. 20 and appears in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about cancer and Black people.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, news release, Feb. 20, 2025