Prostate cancer: are racial differences in clinical stage and survival explained by differences in symptoms?
OBJECTIVE
To better understand racial differences in data for patients referred for definitive treatment of biopsy-proved adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland.


METHODS
Two groups of patients were defined for further analysis. Group 1 comprised all patients who received definitive external beam irradiation of prostatic carcinoma; group 2 comprised all patients with prostatic carcinoma referred between January 1988 and December 1992 for examination at the first clinical indication of adenocarcinoma of the prostate. All patients were evaluated for age, race (black vs white), differentiation of tumor, date of diagnosis, and clinical stage.


RESULTS
In group 1, black patients were significantly younger and presented with disease at higher clinical stage but equivalent grade and survival compared with white patients. In group 2, black patients were significantly younger and had similar differentiation of tumor but with significantly higher clinical stage compared with white patients and more often had obstructive symptoms and less often had been screened for elevated prostate-specific antigen levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Black patients should undergo earlier screening for prostate cancer.
Lawton
C A
CA
Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226.
Cantrell
J E
JE
Derus
S W
SW
Murray
K J
KJ
Byhardt
R W
RW
Wilson
J F
JF
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate