From 1999 to 2020, age-adjusted esophageal cancer mortality decreased among Black adults but stabilized among White adults, according to a study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Chun-Wei Pan, MD, and colleagues described esophageal cancer mortality trends among Black and White adults. The researchers identified 303,267 esophageal cancer deaths from 1999 to 2020, with significant racial disparities. The age-adjusted mortality rate decreased from 6.52 to 2.62 per 100,000 among Black adults and from 4.19 to 3.97 among White adults. A decrease was seen in mortality among Black women (3.31 to 2.29 per 100,000), while White women had an increase (1.52 to 1.99). Similar trends were seen in young men, with a decrease in the rate from 12.82 to 6.26 per 100,000 among Black men and an increase from 9.90 to 10.57 per 100,000 White men. In the Midwest and South, the gap between Black and White decreased over time. In all regions, mortality was lower for Black men by 2020.
