Colorectal cancer disparities among racial/ethnic minorities in Texas, 1995–2003

Colorectal cancer (CRC) interventions can be more precisely targeted geographically if locations of high-risk population groups can be detected and risk factors at these locations can be identified. This study aims to detect small geographic areas where CRC late-stage diagnosis and mortality rates were disproportionally high among racial/ethnic minorities (i.e., non-Hispanic African Americans and Hispanics) in Texas using non-Hispanic Whites as a reference group. The analysis used data about CRC cases diagnosed between 1995 and 2003 in Texas with follow-up data up to 2008. In addition, this study identifies neighborhood-level factors that are associated CRC mortality disparities in the identified geographic areas using a logistic regression analysis. Analysis results indicate that CRC mortality disparities existed in the Austin-San Antonio, the Dallas-Fort Worth, and the Houston metropolitan areas for both non-Hispanic African Americans and Hispanics. Additionally, for non-Hispanic African Americans, census tracts with significant CRC mortality disparities concentrated mostly in the eastern part of Texas. For Hispanics, census tracts with significant CRC mortality disparities scattered in different parts of Texas. Results from this study suggest that CRC intervention programs may benefit from providing additional assistance to African Americans and Hispanics with a low socioeconomic status in the identified areas.