Improved strategies of cancer prevention and control have resulted in tangible benefits for patients with cancer. Disparities in outcome have been reported as a result of inequal access to health care. Historically, differences in health outcomes at population level have been reported according to key characteristics, including race, ethnicity and, more recently, ancestry. These population descriptors have been used to display the differences in the outcome and highlight actionable areas of health disparities, through policy and population health interventions. Yet, they have been commonly mis-intended as ultimate determinants of health outcomes, as recapitulating intrinsic biological differences. A plethora of past literature has described "biological" differences in patients belonging to a specific racial, ethnical or ancestral group, with certain cancers - commonly overlooking the social and economic contextures. The attention has ultimately focused on the existence of intrinsic differences and biological reasons, as opposed to social and economic determinants of disparities in the outcome in disadvantaged or excluded communities, thus nurturing double stigma. In our editorial, we evaluate some key roots of racial attitudes in displaying patient outcomes in oncology epidemiological studies, and call to report ultimate determinants of health - that are, primarily social and economic determinants.

中文翻译：

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癌症差异不存在“生物学”基础：呼吁结束对健康结果最终决定因素的误报。

癌症预防和控制策略的改进为癌症患者带来了实实在在的好处。据报道，由于获得医疗保健的机会不平等，导致结果存在差异。从历史上看，人口层面健康结果的差异是根据关键特征来报告的，包括种族、族裔以及最近的血统。这些人口描述符已被用来显示结果的差异，并通过政策和人口健康干预措施突出健康差异的可采取行动的领域。然而，它们通常被误认为是健康结果的最终决定因素，因为它们概括了内在的生物学差异。过去的大量文献描述了属于特定种族、民族或祖先群体的某些癌症患者的“生物学”差异——通常忽视了社会和经济背景。人们的注意力最终集中在内在差异和生物学原因的存在上，而不是弱势或被排斥社区结果差异的社会和经济决定因素，从而滋生了双重耻辱。在我们的社论中，我们评估了在肿瘤流行病学研究中显示患者结果时种族态度的一些关键根源，并呼吁报告健康的最终决定因素，即主要是社会和经济决定因素。