Liver Cancer Diagnoses See Geographic, Racial, Income Disparities
The urban-rural disparity in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) diagnoses is widening, researchers said, particularly in certain racial, income, and age groups. The authors reported their study (https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(21)00912-5/fulltext) results in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Using data from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, researchers analyzed HCC diagnoses in adults from 1995–2016 by rural-urban residence. Of the 310,635 diagnoses, 85% were in urban areas and 15% in rural. When comparing the diagnoses over time, they found a widening gap in percent change in age-adjusted incidence rates since 1995, with a 218% increase in rural areas versus 118% for urban areas by 2016.
Of the patients living in rural areas, men, non-Hispanic Blacks, American Indian/Alaskan Natives, and those aged 60–69 years, living in the South, or living in areas with high census poverty had increased HCC incidence rates (more than 5% annual percentage change).
The findings underscore the need for oncology nurses to address social determinants of health with their patients, a key factor in the Future of Nursing: 2020–2030 report. Economic stability, geography, and access to care have implications for society’s health. Learn more about the ways ONS members are helping patients overcome those barriers with resources (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/not-all-barriers-to-care-are-created-equal) from ONS Voice.