Open AccessRacial and ethnic disparities in gastric cancer outcomes: More important than surgical technique?
Author(s) -
Shaila Merchant,
Lily Li,
Joseph Kim
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v20.i33.11546
Subject(s) - ethnic group , health equity , helicobacter pylori , medicine , cancer , psychological intervention , lymphadenectomy , public health , environmental health , gerontology , pathology , political science , psychiatry , law
Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care are major public health concerns and their identification is necessary to develop interventions to eliminate these disparities. We and others have previously observed marked disparities in gastric cancer outcomes between Eastern and Western patients. These disparities have long been attributed to surgical technique and extent of lymphadenectomy. However, more recent evidence suggests that other factors such as tumor biology, environmental factors such as Helicobacter pylori infection and stage migration may also significantly contribute to these observed disparities. We review the literature surrounding disparities in gastric cancer and provide data pertaining to potential contributing factors.