Longtime cancer disparities between African Americans and whites -- with blacks having a sharply higher mortality rate -- have narrowed significantly during the past several years and disappeared nearly entirely for a few age groups, including men under 50 and women who are 70 and older, according to a new study by the American Cancer Society. [...]

"The message is progress has been made, but we still have a long way to go," said Len Lichtenfeld, interim chief medical officer for the cancer society. [...]

Lichtenfeld noted that early evidence suggests the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage, helped "made a difference" in narrowing cancer disparities but he said it was too early to know the impact of some recent changes.