Black patients may be missed on common cancer screening, study suggests

A common screening test for endometrial cancer may not be reliable in Black patients, a new study finds. 

The test, which uses ultrasound, is used to see whether or not a patient might need more invasive testing, involving a biopsy. Past research suggested that the ultrasound is very accurate for triaging patients in this way — but now, the new study suggests it may miss a concerning number of Black patients.

"This is a very important study," Dr. Christina Annunziata, a senior vice president of the American Cancer Society who was not involved in the research, told Live Science. 

The study, published June 27 in the JAMA Oncology, reveals one factor that might help explain why Black patients with endometrial cancer tend to be diagnosed later and suffer worse outcomes than other populations.

Related: 'Racism is a global public health crisis': Author Layal Liverpool says racist ideas still pervade medicine, and that hurts all of us 

Endometrial cancer, which affects the lining of the uterus, is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs diagnosed in the United States, affecting more than 65,000 people a year. The disease mainly affects women over age 60, but the incidence of endometrial cancer has been rising for women of all ages for the past two decades.

That rate is increasing more rapidly for Black women than for women of other races. In addition, evidence shows Black women in the U.S. are at least twice as likely to die from certain subtypes of endometrial cancer than white women are.