. "2 The Burden of Cancer Among Ethnic Minority and the Medically Underserved Populations." The Unequal Burden of Cancer: An Assessment of NIH Research and Programs for Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1999.
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TABLE 2-22 Percentage of U.S. Women Who Reported Annual Breast Examination of Pap Spear, by Racial or Ethnic Group, Education, and Income
Percent of U.S. Women Who Have Reported Having the Following:
Racial or Ethnic Group
Breast Examination
Pap Smear
White, non-Hispanic
67.3
67.1
Black
74.2
76.3
Hispanic
62.9
63.6
American Indian
53.3
50.0
Asian or Pacific Islander
56.7
54.2
Education (in years)
<12
62.9
65.5
12
69.9
70.8
13–15
74.3
73.7
>16 or more
77.5
77.1
Income as percentage of poverty level
<150
60.7
61.8
150–299
63.7
64.8
300–399
67.8
66.8
>400
73.2
72.9
SOURCE: National Survey of Family Growth.
Future Directions in Assessing the Burden of Cancer among Ethnic Minority and Medically Underserved Groups
Cancer Surveillance Among Ethnic Minorities and Medically Underserved Individuals
Data on the incidence of cancer among ethnic minorities and medically underserved individuals indicate that not all of these groups are at higher risk of cancer than members of the majority population, and that the rates of some cancers among white Americans who are medically underserved are not very different from the highest rates among some ethnic minority groups. On the other hand, cancer mortality rates are significantly higher and cancer survival rates are lower among many ethnic minority populations, a fact attributed in several studies to late stage of diagnosis and inferior treatment in the health care system. Further, many cancer risk behaviors are more prevalent among ethnic minority and medically underserved groups, portending an increase in cancer mortality.
It is important that the reasons for the differences in cancer incidence,
