Black men are at two times higher risk of getting prostate cancer than their white counterparts. While the American Urologic Association recommends screening as early as 40 years of age if risk factors are present, disparities in prostate cancer incidence persist.
A new abstract co-led by Dr. Kevin Kensler, assistant professor of population health sciences, and Dr. Meenakshi Davuluri, assistant professor of clinical urology, was presented at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting. It evaluated stage-specific prostate cancer incidence rates by race, age, and borough among men within NYC to determine if any disparities exist.
Investigators estimated age-standardized stage-specific prostate cancer incidence rates from 2011 to 2020. They also estimated incidence rate ratios to compare rates among non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) men in NYC by age and borough.
In all boroughs, higher incidence rates of metastatic prostate cancer were seen among NHB men. The highest relative risk is among young NHB men in Brooklyn.
“Notably, we observed the largest relative disparities for Black men ages 40 to 54. This is before many men begin screening for prostate cancer,” said Dr. Kensler. “These findings suggest that Black men may benefit from starting prostate cancer screening at earlier ages and that earlier screening may help reduce these disparities.”
Researchers suggest that areas of NYC with higher incidence rates would benefit from public health education and screening efforts to help mitigate the rates of metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis.
"These findings require further investigation to determine additional factors of influence,” said Dr. Davuluri. “However, by identifying geographic and age-related nuances, we've begun finding ways to target clinical and public health screening interventions."
- Highlights