TAMPA, Fla. — There are still some glaring gaps when it comes to cancer care and minorities according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research.

The report details some of the cancer disparities faced by different minority groups and also offers up solutions.

In the new Cancer Disparities report from the American Association for Cancer Research, not everyone is receiving that cancer care at the same level.

“It’s a call to action that happens every two years,” said Dr. Matthew Schabath, the Cancer and Epidemiology Department Co-Leader at Moffitt Cancer Center.  

Dr. Schabath was also on the steering committee for this new report.

“There’s sort of an old adage that money can’t fix problems but investments can,” he said. “Wise investments into research, into better clinical care. And what we’ve seen is that we’ve actually seen some of these disparities among racial and ethnic minorities actually come down.”

In the report that examined patients nationwide it points out a number of troubling statistics like how Black people have the highest overall cancer death rate among all racial and ethnic groups. Mortality rates for stomach and liver cancer are significantly higher in Native Americans, Asians and Hispanic populations. People living in rural communities are also 38 percent more likely to be diagnosed and die from lung cancer, according to the report.

Dr. Schabath said the reasons for these disparities are complex.

“It’s a lot of intersectionality. Access to care is a multi-layered problem that we have. We know getting to a hospital, just travel alone is a huge barrier. But accessing care is a huge barrier to getting high-quality care,” he said.

It’s why Susan Vadaparampil with Moffitt’s Community Outreach, Engagement & Equity department says they’re targeting those communities.

“That report helps us take all of those action-oriented things whether it be education, whether that’s training the next generation of cancer workforce or providing direct services and having us take what is always limited resources and bringing it to the community,” she said.

It’s what she said they had in mind when they hosted an outreach event for migrant and farmworkers in Wimauma. She said this kind of work they did shows how dedicated they are to lowering those deadly cancer statistics.

“10, 15 years ago, maybe a report like this happened once every blue moon,” said Vadaparampil. “This is year-over-year attention and commitment and that is what it’s gonna take. So, I don’t feel discouraged at all. I actually feel very encouraged that this is at the forefront of the entire cancer research community’s consciousness.”

That’s what Dr. Schabath said the report is meant to do, not only for Tampa Bay but for cancer treatment facilities across the country.

“We still have a lot of work to go,” he said. “Especially among racial and ethnic minorities. We haven’t solved these problems, but we’ve seen a trajectory of improvement in care, delivery and outcomes among racial and ethnic minorities over the last several decades.”

Dr. Schabath said the report has been presented to politicians in Washington D.C., doctors and hospitals nationwide, equipping them with the kind of data that could change the way cancer care administered in this country. Potentially saving millions of lives.