The outcome of patients with lung cancer remains poor, particularly among individuals of ethnic and racial minorities. Two well-documented causes for the currently observed disparities in survival are diagnosis at a more advanced stage and lower rates of indicated treatment of minority patients. The underlying reasons for these disparities however, are not clear. A range of potential explanations have been suggested including patient-level (beliefs, preferences, and expectations regarding lung cancer care), physician-level (biases, stereotyping, and uncertainty), patient-provider interaction-level (barriers in cross-cultural relationships) and system-level (health system organization, accessibility) factors. Understanding the influence and relative importance of these factors is an important first step towards designing interventions to improve the outcomes of minority patients with lung cancer.

In this presentation, we will review the underlying reasons for the observed disparities in stage at diagnosis, treatment, and end-of-life care of minority patients, with a particular focus on cultural factors. We will discuss results from a recently completed, four-site study assessing behavioral and cultural barriers to appropriate diagnosis and treatment of minorities with lung cancer. Our focus will be on potentially modifiable barriers that could be the target for future interventions aimed at reducing disparities in care.

Citation Format: Juan Wisnivesky. Cultural determinants of disparities in lung cancer care and outcomes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA48.

©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.
2015