Trends in disparate treatment of African American men with localized prostate cancer across National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk groups.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether African Americans (AAs) with intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) receive similar treatment as white patients and whether any observed disparities are narrowing with time.

METHODS

We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results to identify 128,189 men with localized intermediate- to high-risk PCa (prostate-specific antigen ≥10 ng/mL, Gleason score ≥7, or T stage ≥T2b) diagnosed from 2004 to 2010. We used multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine the impact of race on the receipt of definitive treatment.

RESULTS

AA men were significantly less likely to receive curative-intent treatment than white men (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-0.86; P <.001). There was no evidence of this disparity narrowing over time (Pinteraction 2010 vs 2004 = .490). Disparities in the receipt of treatment between AA and white men were significantly larger in high-risk (AOR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.56-0.64; P <.001) than in intermediate-risk disease (AOR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.97; P = .04; Pinteraction <.001). After adjusting for treatment, demographics, and prognostic factors, AA men had a higher risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01-1.25; P = .03).

CONCLUSION

AA men with intermediate- to high-risk PCa are less likely to be treated with curative intent than white men. This disparity is worse in high-risk disease and is not improving over time. Factors underlying this treatment disparity should be urgently studied as it is a potentially correctable contributor to excess PCa mortality among AA patients.