Study reveals stark disparities in cancer rates between ethnic groups

Stark disparities in cancer rates between different ethnic groups have been laid bare in new research showing black people are twice as likely to get prostate cancer while white people have double the chance of getting skin and lung cancers.

The analysis of NHS Digital cancer registration data by Cancer Research UK provides the most complete recording ever of cancer rates by ethnicity in England, offering crucial data on how some rates vary. The results are published in the British Journal of Cancer.

White people in England are more than twice as likely to get some types of cancer, including melanoma skin cancer, oesophageal, bladder and lung cancers compared with people from black, Asian or mixed ethnic backgrounds, according to the research.

Black people are almost three times more likely to get myeloma and almost twice as likely to get prostate cancer compared with white people. The study also found that black people are more likely to get stomach and liver cancers, and Asian people are more likely to get liver cancers. These types can be linked to infections including H. pylori and hepatitis, which are more common in some minority ethnic groups.

Genetics are thought to play a part in some of the findings, Cancer Research UK said. For example, white people are more likely to get skin cancer because they tend to burn more easily in the sun.

Preventable risk factors also appear to be involved, the charity added, as white people are more likely than most minority ethnic groups to smoke or be overweight or obese. These are the two largest risk factors in developing cancer and help explain why white people are more likely to get some types of cancer than other ethnic groups.

With some evidence suggesting smoking and obesity rates in people from black, Asian or mixed ethnic backgrounds could become similar to those in white people in future, Cancer Research UK said it was particularly concerned that cancer rates could rise in some minority ethnic groups. This is worrying, the charity said, when compounded by reports that minority ethnic patients often have worse experiences of cancer care and lower survival for some cancer types.

“To date, this is the most reliable and highest-quality study on cancer incidence by ethnicity in England, which shows us there are disparities in cancer rates across different ethnicities,” said study author Dr Katrina Brown, a Cancer Research UK statistician.

“Someone’s risk of developing cancer is based on many factors, including age, genetics and exposure to preventable risk factors – about 40% of cancer cases in the UK could be prevented. But the cancer incidence we see today is partly the product of smoking and obesity in decades past. If we don’t tackle these risk factors today, we could see cancer rates rise in future for people from ethnic minority groups.”

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, added: “It’s clear addressing cancer inequalities must be central to [health secretary] Sajid Javid’s new 10-year cancer plan and include being bolder on cancer prevention – tightening tobacco control and implementing, not U-turning, on obesity policy. More research is needed to understand the challenges faced by different ethnic groups and how the cancer journey differs for people.”