Komen: Fewer Black women are dying from breast cancer

Fewer Black women are dying from breast cancer in nine U.S. metro areas, according to an October 1 report published by Susan G. Komen.

The report found that Komen-led interventions and partnerships with local organizations reduced mortality rates from the disease for Black women between 2014 and 2023.

Komen compared data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) and reported that the racial gap in mortality improved by double digits in two metro areas from 2014 to 2023 and that the Dallas metro area was the only place where more Black women died of breast cancer in 2023 compared with 2014. 

However, it also noted that the racial gap in mortality grew by double digits in two metro areas during the time period and that Black women in the Memphis metro area were 79% more likely and in the St. Louis metro area 75% more likely to die from breast cancer.  

"We're pleased to see that overall, more Black women are surviving breast cancer and that is driving a smaller racial gap between Black and white deaths," said Sonja Hughes, MD, vice president of Community Health at Susan G. Komen. "This is a meaningful difference that deserves recognition … but too many Black women are still dying from the disease and that means that no metro area has completely closed the racial gap in mortality."

Read the full report here.