According to a study published in the journal Cancer, among men with prostate cancer who received care from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health System, African American men did not have more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis or die earlier than white men. This differs from trends seen in the greater U.S. population of patients with prostate cancer and suggests that black men have similar survival rates to white men with equal health care access.
In their analysis, the researchers looked at 60,035 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2000 and 2015 (30.3% percent were African American, 69.7% non-Hispanic white). The results of the study showed that African American men were not more likely to experience delays in diagnosis and care. Also, African American men were not more likely to present with more advanced disease. Moreover, African American men were not more likely to die from their disease. These outcomes for African American men were seen even though they were more likely to live in lower-income areas.
The study’s findings suggest that African American men who receive equal cancer screening and treatment can expect to have relatively similar outcomes as their whit counterparts. Also, having access to high-quality medical care may help address some of the racial disparities seen among men diagnosed with the disease.
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“These results suggest that poorer outcomes for African American men with prostate cancer may not be a foregone conclusion,” said Brent Rose, MD, of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System in a press release. “With smart public policy choices, we may be able to reduce or even eliminate disparities and achieve equal outcomes for all men with prostate cancer.”
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