A multidisciplinary team of authors at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals published a new study regarding racial differences in time to treatment for melanoma in one of the preeminent dermatology journals, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
In this study, the authors found that Black patients with melanoma had a longer time to definitive surgical treatment (TTDS) for Stages I-III melanoma and immunotherapy; after controlling for other sociodemographic factors, Black patients had over twice the odds of having TTDS between 41 and 60 days; over three times the odds of having TTDS between 61 and 90 days; and over five times the odds of having TTDS over 90 days. This study is important in laying the groundwork for targeted approaches to improve TTDS in Black patients in order to reduce racial disparities in melanoma outcomes.
Read their paper, titled “Racial Differences in Time to Treatment for Melanoma.”