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Cancer research

Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer Treatment and Mortality

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A recent study published in Ethnicity & Health has shed light on the alarming racial disparities in the treatment and mortality rates of prostate cancer patients. Researchers analyzed a cohort of 244,468 men aged 65 and older, diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2007 and 2015. The findings revealed significant disparities in the use of anti-cancer, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic drugs among racial groups.

Key Takeaways:

  • Non-Hispanic Blacks with prostate cancer were more likely to have hypertension (86.2%) and diabetes (45.3%) compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
  • Non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to receive antihypertensive (adjusted odds ratio: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99) and antidiabetic drugs (aOR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.80-0.92) compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
  • Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asians were significantly less likely to receive chemotherapy and hormone therapy compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
  • After adjusting for all factors, including treatments, the risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality was significantly higher for non-Hispanic Blacks (hazard ratio: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.24-1.51 and 1.22, 95% CI: 1.17-1.27) than that of non-Hispanic Whites.
  • Non-Hispanic Black patients with prostate cancer still had a considerably higher risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality than non-Hispanic Whites after accounting for demographic, therapy, and tumor factors.

Statistics:

  • 86.2% of non-Hispanic Blacks with prostate cancer had hypertension.
  • 45.3% of non-Hispanic Blacks with prostate cancer had diabetes.
  • 62.1% of non-Hispanic Blacks with prostate cancer took antihypertensive medications.
  • 41.1% of non-Hispanic Blacks with prostate cancer received antidiabetic drugs.
  • Non-Hispanic Whites were more likely to receive chemotherapy and hormone therapy compared to Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asians.

Sources:

  • Racial Disparities In the Receipt of Therapies for Cancer, Hypertension, and Diabetes, and In Mortality In a Large Population-based Cohort of Older Men With Prostate Cancer. Ethnicity & Health, 2025.
  • NewsRx. New Prostate Cancer Findings from University of Texas Health Science Center Outlined (Racial Disparities In the Receipt of Therapies for Cancer, Hypertension, and Diabetes, and In Mortality In a Large Population-based Cohort of Older Men With ...). Cancer Weekly. July 29, 2025; p 169.

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