Prostate cancer treatment patterns among racial/ethnic groups in Florida.
BACKGROUND
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. Blacks have the highest incidence and mortality rates. Treatment differences have been observed between black and white men. Brachy monotherapy (BMT) has become popular for localized prostate cancer because of its convenience, being the least invasive, and resulting in better quality of life during and after treatment. No studies have specifically examined BMT in treating localized prostate cancer by race/ethnicity.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to (1) describe treatment patterns among men with localized prostate cancer, (2) identify factors affecting the use of BMT, and (3) examine if there was any difference in BMT use by race and ethnicity.


METHODS
Florida cancer incidence data of 1994-2003 were used to extract information on men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer along with their demographics, primary payer at diagnosis, tumor stage and treatments. Logistic regression was performed to assess the likelihood of receiving BMT.


RESULTS
The study found that surgery and radiation were the 2 major single treatments for localized prostate cancer. The percent of patients receiving BMT treatment increased from 1994 through 2003. Men with the following characteristics were more likely to receive BMT than their counterparts: Non-Hispanic white, older, married, Medicare beneficiaries and military personnel, with well-differentiated tumor, and receiving treatment in facilities with high practice volume and/or located in urban counties.


CONCLUSIONS
There were racial/ethnic differences in localized prostate cancer treatment. Possible reasons for the differences require further research.
Xiao
Hong
H
Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tallahassee, Florida 32312, USA. hong.xiao@famu.edu
Warrick
Cynthia
C
Huang
Youjie
Y
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data