by Elana Gotkine

From 1999 to 2020, age-adjusted esophageal cancer mortality decreased among Black adults but stabilized among white adults, reducing the racial mortality gap, according to a study published online July 24 in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Chun-Wei Pan, M.D., from the John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, and colleagues described updated esophageal cancer mortality trends among Black and white adults from 1999 to 2020 using data from CDC-WONDER.

The researchers identified 303,267 esophageal cancer deaths from 1999 to 2020 in the United States, with significant racial disparities. The age-adjusted mortality rate decreased from 6.52 to 2.62 per 100,000 among Black adults and from 4.19 to 3.97 among white adults, narrowing the racial mortality gap.

A decrease was seen in the mortality rate among Black women, from 3.31 to 2.29 per 100,000, while white women had an increase from 1.52 to 1.99. Similar trends were seen in young men, with a decrease in the rate from 12.82 to 6.26 per 100,000 among Black men, and an increase from 9.90 to 10.57 per 100,000 white men. In the Midwest and South, Black adults initially had higher mortality rates than whites, but over time, this gap reduced. Across all regions, mortality rates were lower for Black men by 2020.

"To address these disparities, we propose targeted screening programs based on the predominant histological subtypes in each racial group, increased access to endoscopic treatment, and investing in research on novel screening tools, and public health interventions aimed at risk factors like obesity," the authors write.

More information: Chun‐Wei Pan et al, Esophageal cancer mortality disparities between Black and White adults in the United States, 1999–2020: insights from CDC‐WONDER, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/jgh.16689

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