Lung Cancer News & Updates: Racial Segregation In Neighborhoods Determines Who Gets Treatment For Deadly Disease

African-Americans who have lung cancer in segregated neighborhoods have lesser chances to get life-saving treatment for their deadly disease. An example of this is black patients suffering from non-small cell lung cancer surgery, or NSCLC, in certain Georgia neighborhoods.

The research, which examined data obtained from 2000 to 2009 by the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry, stated that black patients residing in the most segregated regions were 65 percent less likely to undergo lung cancer surgery. In the second most segregated communities, black patients were 63 percent less likely to receive lung cancer treatment, CNBC reported.

The study determined that segregation and economic status go hand in hand. That combination, which stemmed from social and political classifications in the United States, has a huge role in limiting access to quality medical care for black patients with lung cancer. Communities with high economic deficiencies mean poorer health care not just for black patients, but also for whites.

Higher Death Risks Among Blacks With Lung Cancer

The study found that black patients who are living in the most segregated communities were 31 percent more likely to die from lung cancer than their white counterparts, CNBC further reported. However, black patients who live in less segregated and less economically challenged areas are more likely to get lung cancer surgery and have death rates similar to their white equivalents.

Non-small cell lung cancer occurs when malignant cancer cells develop in the tissues of the lung. Risk of developing the disease is amplified by cigarette smoking. Some of the symptoms of NSCLC are shortness of breath and persistent coughs, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Diagnosis and Treatment

NSCLC can be treated if diagnosed at an early stage. Around half of the patients who underwent surgery for their NSCLC continues living for over five years. Those who didn't have the surgery usually die in just a year, CNBC noted.

Treatment for NSCLC is based on the cancer's progression. Surgery is recommended to those in the early stages, but stages three to four require a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy, the American Cancer Society listed.

This week, it was reported that a type of radiotherapy called stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT, can lead to fatal non-cancer illnesses. SBRT, a treatment for early NSCLC, uses multiple radiation beam angles to deliver sharp and precise doses of radiation outside the cancerous growth and the normal tissue surrounding it.