Background: In the first CONCORD study, five-year survival for colon cancers diagnosed during 1990-1994 in the U.S. was among the highest in the world (60%), but there were large racial disparities in most participating states. The CONCORD-2 study updated these findings to determine survival trends up to 2009 by race and stage.

Methods: We analyzed data from 37 state population-based cancer registries, covering approximately 80% of the U.S. population, for patients diagnosed with colon cancer during 2001-2009 and followed through 2009. Survival up to five years was adjusted for background mortality (net survival) using state- and race-specific life tables, and age-standardized using the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. Survival is presented by race (all, black, white), stage, state, and calendar period (2001–03 and 2004–09) to account for changes in methods used to collect stage.

Results: Five-year net survival was 63.7% for those diagnosed during 2001-2003 and 64.6% for 2004-2009. More black than white patients were diagnosed at distant stage, both in 2001-2003 (21.5% vs. 17.2%, respectively) and in 2004-2009 (23.3% vs 18.8%). Survival varied widely between states and there was a slight increase in many states. Survival improved for both blacks and whites, but blacks had lower survival than whites diagnosed during 2001-2003 (54.7% vs. 64.5%) and 2004-2009 (56.6% vs. 65.4%).

Conclusion: Five-year net survival from colon cancer remained stable over time. Survival remained lower in blacks than in whites but the gap narrowed. These finding suggest a need for more targeted efforts to improve screening and to ensure timely, appropriate treatment.

Citation Format: Arica White, Djenaba Joseph, Sun Hee Rim, Christopher J. Johnson, Michel Coleman, Claudia Allemani. Racial disparities in colon cancer survival--United States, 2001-2009 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr A56.

©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.
2018
American Association for Cancer Research.