Older Black adults with newly diagnosed gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies have higher rates of frailty and functional impairments than White patients, according to new findings.
Overall, half of Black patients and nearly one third of White patients were frail. Black participants were also significantly more likely to report limitations in walking one block and performing basic activities of daily living as well as moderate or severe pain.
"As frailty and functional impairments are associated with increased chemotherapy toxicities, hospitalizations, and poorer overall survival, these differences may in part explain racial disparities in cancer outcomes," lead author Grant R. Williams, MD, MSPH, assistant professor in the division of hematology and oncology and director of the cancer and aging program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a statement.
The study was published online this month in journal Cancer.
Racial disparities have long been reported in cancer care, despite advances in treatment. Recent data revealed Black patients have a higher risk of mortality from GI cancers compared with White patients, in part because of disparities in access to surgical care.
But, as Williams and colleagues point out, the causes of disparities in cancer outcomes are likely multifactorial and reflect an interplay of numerous factors, including greater stress and reduced confidence in medical care.
