Cancer and Black/African Americans

Black/African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers.¹

• From 2017–2021¹,
  • Black/African American males were 1.8 times and 1.7 times, respectively, more likely to have new cases of stomach and prostate cancer than non-Hispanic white males.
  • Black/African American females were more than two times as likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer than non-Hispanic white females.
• From 2018–2022¹,
  • Black/African American males were 2.4 times and 2.1 times, respectively, more likely to die from stomach and prostate cancer than non-Hispanic white males.
  • Black/African American females were 2.4 times and 2.0 times, respectively, more likely to die from stomach and uterine cancer than non-Hispanic white females.
• Black/African Americans have lower 5-year cancer survival rates for most cancer sites than non-Hispanic whites.¹
• Black/African American females have similar rates of breast cancer incidence as non-Hispanic white females, but from 2018–2022 they were 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white females.¹

Diagnosis

Cancer among adults age 18 and over, age-adjusted percentage, 2023
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	5.7	13.0	0.4
Breast	1.6	2.2	0.7
Cervical (women)	0.6	1.2	0.5
Prostate (men)	3.7	3.0	1.2
Any skin	0.2	5.3	0.0

Top Cancer Sites for Black/African American Males (2017–2021)

Cancer Incidence among males, rate per 100,000 population, 2017–2021
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Males	Non-Hispanic White Males	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	526.5	510.7	1.0
Colon & Rectum	49.4	42.0	1.2
Esophagus	5.2	8.3	0.6
Kidney	24.7	22.9	1.1
Liver & IBD	16.6	11.2	1.5
Lung	66.5	60.0	1.1
Oral Cavity & Pharynx	12.7	20.1	0.6
Pancreas	17.7	16.0	1.1
Prostate	188.7	114.9	1.6
Stomach	13.2	7.5	1.8

Top Cancer Sites for Black/African American Females (2017–2021)

Cancer incidence among females, rate per 100,000 population, 2017–2021
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Females	Non-Hispanic White Females	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	403.1	447.0	0.9
Breast	129.3	139.0	0.9
Cervical	8.7	6.9	1.3
Colon & Rectum	36.8	32.4	1.1
Kidney	12.6	11.1	1.1
Liver & IBD	5.5	4.3	1.3
Lung	43.2	52.2	0.8
Pancreas	15.1	11.9	1.3
Stomach	8.0	3.7	2.2
Uterus	30.2	27.7	1.1

5-Year Survival Rate

5-year survival rate among males by cancer site, percentage, 2014–2020
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Males	Non-Hispanic White Males	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	66.8	68.7	1.0
Colon & Rectum	57.3	65.2	0.9
Kidney	75.5	79.0	1.0
Liver & IBD	19.1	20.5	0.9
Lung	20.1	22.6	0.9
Pancreas	10.4	12.8	0.8
Prostate	97.0	98.0	1.0
Stomach	31.9	32.6	1.0

5-year survival rate among females, percentage, 2014–2020
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Females	Non-Hispanic White Females	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	63.4	71.3	0.9
Breast	83.8	93.0	0.9
Cervical	58.1	67.8	0.9
Colon & Rectum	62.0	66.1	0.9
Kidney	79.5	80.9	1.0
Liver & IBD	23.6	21.1	1.1
Lung	28.2	30.8	0.9
Pancreas	12.0	12.3	1.0
Stomach	44.5	44.1	1.0
Uterus	63.0	84.2	0.7

Death Rate

5-year mortality among males, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2018–2022
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Males	Non-Hispanic White Males	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	208.3	179.0	1.2
Colon & Rectum	21.3	15.2	1.4
Liver & IBD	12.3	8.4	1.5
Lung	46.7	41.2	1.1
Pancreas	15.3	13.2	1.2
Prostate	37.2	18.1	2.1
Stomach	6.6	2.8	2.4

5-year mortality among females, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2018–2022
Cancer	Non-Hispanic Black Females	Non-Hispanic White Females	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	144.7	131.0	1.1
Breast	26.8	19.4	1.4
Cervical	3.2	2.1	1.5
Colon & Rectum	13.5	10.9	1.2
Liver & IBD	4.6	3.8	1.2
Pancreas	12.3	9.8	1.3
Stomach	3.3	1.4	2.4
Uterus	9.5	4.7	2.0

Screening

Breast Cancer

Women ages 50–74 who had a mammogram in the past 2 years, percentage, 2021
Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
81.5	76.1	1.1

Cervical Cancer

Women ages 21–65 who had a Pap smear in the past 3 years or human papillomavirus vaccines in the last 5 years, percentage, 2021
Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
74.4	79.9	0.9

Colorectal Cancer

Adults ages 50–75 who received any type of colorectal cancer screening, percentage, 2021
Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
71.7	74.2	1.0

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¹SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute; 2024 Apr 17. (back)