J Natl Med Assoc
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This article describes a retrospective study that compared the distribution of colorectal tumors among black and white discharges. A total of 188,109 discharges with colorectal cancer were selected from the Hospital Cost and Utilization Project, a national sample of hospitals with 34 million patient discharges from 1980 to 1987. Black/white differences were small for right, left, and rectal tumors; however, black discharges had a higher percentage of colorectal tumors with sites unspecified. ⋯ Black discharges had a higher proportion of unspecified tumors than whites regardless of cancer severity, discharge status, procedure type, age, sex, expected third-party payer, and year. Black/white differences were maintained across hospital characteristics (region, rural/urban location, teaching status, bed size, and ownership). Differences in specification of tumor site may be an indicator of poor continuity of care, poor access, or other quality-related measures.