Disparities in Cancer Care – A Worldwide Perspective and Roadmap for Change

Published September 21, 2016

This Special Series issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, addresses health disparities from a global perspective. The following introduction is authored by editors Olufunmilayo, MBBS, FACP, FASCO and Charles R. Thomas, Jr., MD, FASCO.

We elected to move past an exhaustive recitation of statistics, but charge the contributors to develop ideas around achievable practical solutions to reduce health disparities and to identify opportunities for research. Furthermore, we felt that it was imperative that this issue reflect a worldwide perspective because some of the major disparities are, in part, strongly related to geography, culture, and socioeconomic status. Health disparities are present and well documented among poor and rich countries and within poor and minority populations in the same country. We hope this issue of the Journal will galvanize health care providers, industry, and policy makers in all regions of the world to work cooperatively on developing novel strategies to reduce global cancer disparities.

Continue reading the introduction, Disparities in Cancer Care: A Worldwide Perspective and Roadmap for Change, or view the following articles in the issue:

• Patterns of Cancer Incidence, Mortality, and Prevalence Across Five Continents: Defining Priorities to Reduce Cancer Disparities in Different Geographic Regions of the World
• Interpreting Disparate Responses to Cancer Therapy: The role Human Population Genetics
• Ethnic Differences in Response to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
• Genetics, Epidemiology, and Cancer Disparities: Is it Black and White?
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality: Are We Doing Enough to Address the Root Causes
• Colorectal Cancer Model of Health Disparities: Understanding Mortality Differences in Minority Populations
• Disparities in Gastric Cancer Chemotherapy Between the East and West
• Disparities in Genetic Testing: Thinking Outside the BRCA Box
• Between and Within: International Perspectives on Cancer and Heath Disparities
• Reducing Cancer Disparities for Minorities: A Multidisciplinary Research Agenda to Improve Patient Access to Health Systems, Clinical Trials, and Effective Cancer Therapy