A new study indicates that higher prostate cancer death rates among black men in the US may be due to a higher risk of developing preclinical prostate cancer as well as a higher risk of that cancer progressing more quickly to advanced stages…[T]he study suggests that screening policies may need to be tailored to the higher-risk status of this population.
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The investigators estimated that 30 percent to 43 percent of black men develop preclinical prostate cancer—prostate cancer that is not symptomatic—by age 85, a risk that is 28 percent to 56 percent higher than that among men of any race.
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“We found that the interval from getting preclinical cancer to being diagnosed is long—10 years or more on average—and is similar in black and white men. But during that interval, cancers in black men tend to progress faster,” said Dr. Ruth Etzioni, a senior author on the study. “What this means is that in developing screening policies for black men, it will be important to consider beginning screening them at an earlier age and potentially screening them more frequently than would be recommended by general population guidelines.”
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