Despite strides in survival rates, lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer deaths in New Jersey and was more likely to kill Black residents than other races, said a report released Tuesday.
New Jersey ranked ninth among states in the five-year survival rate, which has increased by 21% due to earlier diagnosis and better treatments.
But the annual “State of Lung Cancer” report by the American Lung Association also showed that the five-year survival rate among Black residents was 22.6%, compared with 32.5% among white residents in New Jersey.
It’s a significant gap compared with the nationwide average of 28.5% for white patients and 25.5% for Black patients.
Story continues below photo gallery.
“That’s one of the things we noticed in New Jersey, that [the gap] was wider,” said Zach Jump, senior director of nationwide epidemiology and statistics research for the association. “Anytime you see something like this, it’s a lot of the classic culprits: historical inequalities, exposure to tobacco smoke and air pollution.”
Despite being home to some highly regarded health networks and ambitious hospitals that have expanded their offerings, New Jersey has long grappled with large racial disparities when it comes to health care access and outcomes.
Black residents are more likely to be stricken with and die from a host of ailments — including asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease — than white, Hispanic and Asian residents.
Efforts to close NJ’s racial disparity in health outcomes
Efforts have been made to narrow the margin, especially in recent years with maternal health and birth outcomes. On Tuesday, leaders of the newly combined Rutgers School of Medicine said they would launch a campaign to address the inequalities in health outcomes.
“By centering health equity in every aspect of the new Rutgers School of Medicine, we will produce the next generation of doctors who will be a part of advancing health equity in the communities we serve,” said Robert L. Johnson, dean of New Jersey Medical School, which is merging with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to form the new school.
Story continues below photo gallery.
But experts say the problem runs deeper than medicine. A report last year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said segregated housing practices, lower income levels and a lack of access to high-level care contribute significantly to the disparity.
Jump agreed. “It’s always multifaceted,” he said. “There is no one smoking gun that you can point to and say, ‘That’s the reason.'”
Tobacco and air pollution
New Jersey scored well compared with the rest of the nation in minimizing risk from the leading causes of lung cancer, although air pollution still remains a factor.
About 10.4% of New Jerseyans smoke, the report said, compared with the national rate of 12.9%. About 10% of tests for radon — a cancer-causing, naturally occurring gas that can seep into homes — were at or above federal standards, ranking New Jersey eighth.
But while the state has seen air pollution particles decline in recent years due to better diesel engines and the closing of coal-fired power plants, it still ranked high for the number of days when smog created unhealthy conditions. North Jersey counties near New York City and South Jersey counties near Philadelphia had enough smog days each year to rank among the worst metropolitan areas.
Lung cancer is the greatest killer in New Jersey and the nation because it’s fairly common and it’s often discovered late. Lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers combine for almost half of new cases and half of all cancer deaths in the Garden State.
The American Lung Association used the report to support a bill winding its way through Trenton that would require all health insurance providers to cover biomarker testing to allow more targeted treatment of tumors.
