Black Missourians are closing cancer gap. Blacks in Missouri are closing the racial gap for newly diagnosed cancers, a new report found. The rate of newly diagnosed cancers is roughly equal between Blacks and Whites in Missouri, according to an analysis of data from the Missouri Department of Health and state Cancer Registry. Only a decade ago, it was higher for Blacks. In 1996, Blacks in the state had an 18-percent higher rate of new cancer diagnoses than Whites. By 2003, the disparity had shrunk to 6 percent. “If the trend continues, we expect the difference in new diagnosis for Blacks and Whites will disappear by 2006,” said Mario Schootman, lead author of the report that will be published early next year in the journal Missouri Medicine. The 2006 numbers are not yet available for analysis, said Schootman, an associate professor of epidemiology and medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, and a leader at the Siteman Cancer Center. Schootman says the lower rates of new cancers are due to an overall decline in cigarette smoking and more cancer screenings.

Pass “Stop AIDS in Prison Act” says group. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is urging Congress to pass the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1943), which went before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The foundation is largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the United States that currently provides treatment, care and support services to more than 80,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide in North America, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. The bill, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and passed by the House last September, seeks to provide comprehensive HIV testing, treatment and prevention for inmates in federal prisons and upon re-entry into the community. The legislation directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test inmates upon entering and exiting federal prison and includes an “opt-out” provision should inmates wish to decline being tested. The bill also would ensure that inmates found to be HIV-positive receive treatment. The foundation “commends Rep. Waters for her leadership in shepherding this groundbreaking legislation that will go a long way toward protecting public health and saving lives,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “By making HIV-testing routine among the prison population, H.R. 1943 will not only help reduce the spread of infection among inmates, but it will also protect the health of the community at large. HIV/AIDS continues to affect minorities disproportionately. At the same time, African Americans and Latinos continue to be overrepresented in the prison population. With HIV-infection rates exploding among communities of color, this legislation is a practical way to identify infected individuals and link them to medical care and treatment, and as parolees return to the community, to help break the chain of infection.”