Ethnicity and management of colon cancer in New Zealand: do indigenous patients get a worse deal?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Racial and ethnic inequalities in colon cancer treatment have been reported in the United States but not elsewhere. The authors of this report compared cancer treatment in a nationally representative cohort of Maori (indigenous) and non-Maori New Zealanders with colon cancer. METHODS: On the basis of cancer registry data, 301 Maori patients and 329 randomly selected non-Maori patients were identified who were diagnosed with colon cancer between 1996 and 2003. Medical notes were reviewed, and surgical and oncology treatments were compared by indigenous status. RESULTS: Maori and non-Maori patients had similar rates of surgical resection, although Maori patients were less likely to..