Study: COVID-19 Outcomes Worse Among Black Cancer Patients Compared to White Cancer Patients

March 31, 2022

Health disparities have been brought to the forefront due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, authors studying a cohort of 3,506 cancer patients found that non-Hispanic Black patients with cancer and COVID-19 suffer far more severe outcomes versus non-Hispanic White patients with COVID-19 and cancer.

According to the study, “Compared with White patients, Black patients had worse COVID-19 presentations and experienced significantly higher COVID-19 severity; this difference was consistent across different analysis methods. These findings are complementary to a recent EHR report that showed African American patients with cancer and COVID-19 had higher rates of hospitalization and death. Our study validates and adds to their findings by examining a large cohort of Black patients with more granular data on the cancer status, severity of COVID-19 at presentation, course of illness, including systemic complications, and outcomes over longitudinal follow-up. Structural racism refers to the ways in which societies reinforce systems of health care, law enforcement, education, employment, benefits, media, and housing that perpetuate discriminatory distribution of resources and attitudes.”