Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of the National Medical Association logoLink to Journal of the National Medical Association
. 1998 Feb;90(2):101–104.

Prostate cancer treatment in black and white men: the need to consider both stage at diagnosis and socioeconomic status.

A P Polednak 1
PMCID: PMC2608322  PMID: 9510624

Abstract

Using data from the population-based Connecticut Tumor Registry, this study examined stage-specific treatment for prostate cancers diagnosed from 1988 through 1992 by age at diagnosis, poverty rate of census tract of residence, and race (black versus white). For local or regional stage prostate cancers, the prevalence of radical prostatectomy was less frequent among blacks than whites within three age groups, but race was not a statistically significant independent predictor when age and poverty rate were included in logistic regression models. For distant stage cancers, endocrine surgery was more prevalent in blacks than whites but race was not a statistically significant independent predictor in logistic regression models. Thus, both stage at diagnosis and socioeconomic status should be considered in studies of racial differences in prostate cancer treatment.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baquet C. R., Horm J. W., Gibbs T., Greenwald P. Socioeconomic factors and cancer incidence among blacks and whites. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1991 Apr 17;83(8):551–557. doi: 10.1093/jnci/83.8.551. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bennett C. L., Greenfield S., Aronow H., Ganz P., Vogelzang N. J., Elashoff R. M. Patterns of care related to age of men with prostate cancer. Cancer. 1991 May 15;67(10):2633–2641. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19910515)67:10<2633::aid-cncr2820671039>3.0.co;2-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blustein J. The reliability of racial classifications in hospital discharge abstract data. Am J Public Health. 1994 Jun;84(6):1018–1021. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.6.1018. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Geiger H. J. Race and health care--an American dilemma? N Engl J Med. 1996 Sep 12;335(11):815–816. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199609123351110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gornick M. E., Eggers P. W., Reilly T. W., Mentnech R. M., Fitterman L. K., Kucken L. E., Vladeck B. C. Effects of race and income on mortality and use of services among Medicare beneficiaries. N Engl J Med. 1996 Sep 12;335(11):791–799. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199609123351106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harlan L., Brawley O., Pommerenke F., Wali P., Kramer B. Geographic, age, and racial variation in the treatment of local/regional carcinoma of the prostate. J Clin Oncol. 1995 Jan;13(1):93–100. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1995.13.1.93. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Henriksson P., Stege R. Cost comparison of parenteral estrogen and conventional hormonal treatment in patients with prostatic cancer. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 1991;7(2):220–225. doi: 10.1017/s0266462300005110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Imperato P. J., Nenner R. P., Will T. O. Radical prostatectomy: lower rates among African-American men. J Natl Med Assoc. 1996 Sep;88(9):589–594. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Krieger N. Overcoming the absence of socioeconomic data in medical records: validation and application of a census-based methodology. Am J Public Health. 1992 May;82(5):703–710. doi: 10.2105/ajph.82.5.703. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Litwin M. S., Hays R. D., Fink A., Ganz P. A., Leake B., Leach G. E., Brook R. H. Quality-of-life outcomes in men treated for localized prostate cancer. JAMA. 1995 Jan 11;273(2):129–135. doi: 10.1001/jama.273.2.129. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lu-Yao G. L., Potosky A. L., Albertsen P. C., Wasson J. H., Barry M. J., Wennberg J. E. Follow-up prostate cancer treatments after radical prostatectomy: a population-based study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1996 Feb 21;88(3-4):166–173. doi: 10.1093/jnci/88.3-4.166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mayberry R. M., Coates R. J., Hill H. A., Click L. A., Chen V. W., Austin D. F., Redmond C. K., Fenoglio-Preiser C. M., Hunter C. P., Haynes M. A. Determinants of black/white differences in colon cancer survival. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Nov 15;87(22):1686–1693. doi: 10.1093/jnci/87.22.1686. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McIntosh H. Why do African-American men suffer more prostate cancer? J Natl Cancer Inst. 1997 Feb 5;89(3):188–189. doi: 10.1093/jnci/89.3.188. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Palmer J. S., Worwag E. M., Conrad W. G., Blitz B. F., Chodak G. W. Same day surgery for radical retropubic prostatectomy: is it an attainable goal? Urology. 1996 Jan;47(1):23–28. doi: 10.1016/s0090-4295(99)80376-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Parker R. G. Varying charges for comparably effective cancer treatments. Am J Clin Oncol. 1992 Aug;15(4):281–287. doi: 10.1097/00000421-199208000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Polednak A. P., Flannery J. T. Black versus white racial differences in clinical stage at diagnosis and treatment of prostatic cancer in Connecticut. Cancer. 1992 Oct 15;70(8):2152–2158. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19921015)70:8<2152::aid-cncr2820700824>3.0.co;2-#. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wingo P. A., Bolden S., Tong T., Parker S. L., Martin L. M., Heath C. W., Jr Cancer statistics for African Americans, 1996. CA Cancer J Clin. 1996 Mar-Apr;46(2):113–125. doi: 10.3322/canjclin.46.2.113. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Zippin C., Lum D., Hankey B. F. Completeness of hospital cancer case reporting from the SEER Program of the National Cancer Institute. Cancer. 1995 Dec 1;76(11):2343–2350. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19951201)76:11<2343::aid-cncr2820761124>3.0.co;2-#. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the National Medical Association are provided here courtesy of National Medical Association

RESOURCES