Does race play a role in oral cancer surgery referrals?

It appears to, according to a study in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (August 24, 2011). White patients are twice as likely to be recommended for surgery for oral and oropharyngeal cancer as black patients, according to researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina. The researchers weren’t surprised to find racial discrimination in cancer treatment, but they didn’t expect it to be so prevalent, they said. [Read more…]