Effect of age and race on the survival of men with prostate cancer in the Metropolitan Detroit tricounty area, 1973 to 1987

Abstract

Objectives: Reports have demonstrated that African Americans diagnosed with prostate cancer have a poor survival compared with whites. We examined the impact of age, race, and stage of disease on survival for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was made of men diagnosed with prostate cancer utilizing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. A total of 12,907 men (9339 white, 3568 black) diagnosed from January 1, 1973 through December 31, 1987 were included in the study. For each stage of disease, survival experience was examined using Kaplan-Meier and life table methods, followed by analysis using Cox's proportional hazard model.

Results: African-American men have a poorer survival than whites for all stages of prostate cancer when the cancer is diagnosed at younger ages. These differences in survival were not demonstrated for men diagnosed with prostate cancer after age 70.

Conclusions: Age and race should be taken into account when assessing the survival of patients with prostate cancer.