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Minority ethnic groups have poor cancer care

Minority ethnic groups make up 6% of the population of England and Wales. The report, based on a symposium funded in collaboration with the Department of Health and published in the British Journal of Cancer (1996;74(suppl 29)), shows that cancer is a common and important cause of death in minority ethnic groups but that uptake for cervical and breast cancer screening, for example, is lower in these groups than in the rest of the population. Researchers from Bradford found that reasons for non-attendance included fears about being seen by a male doctor and names on letters being misspelt or sent to the wrong address. Less than one in four of the women from minority ethnic groups had heard of breast cancer.

"We are extremely worried that lives could be at risk," said Jean King, the charity's head of education. "The general perception has been that minority ethnic groups only have rare cancers. It is rather like heart disease only recently being recognised as a problem for women."

Details on ethnic group are now routinely collected on hospital records, but only since 1995. The report recommends extending this collection to primary care records, so that uptake of screening can be properly monitored. It also calls for research into appropriate methods of delivering effective education on cancer to people from minority ethnic groups and of evaluating the outcomes of cancer treatments for different groups. A further recommendation is for training for professionals taking part in cancer treatment and care.

BMJ 1997;314:535 (22 February).