Factors associated with racial differences in survival for prostatic carcinoma.

The survival data on 99 white and 292 black patients with a carcinoma of the prostate from the city of Richmond seem at the Medical College of Virginia between 1968 and 1977 were analyzed. Black patients with prostatic cancer have significantly poorer survival prognosis than whites. The distribution of stage at diagnosis is unfavorable to blacks in comparison to whites. Also, blacks present with less differentiated tumors. Degree of differentiation and clinical stage are highly associated and both are important predictors of survival. The prognosis differential between the two races does not seem to be due to difference in the biology of the disease; it is more likely due to the 'environment', defined in the broadest sense. Socio-economic status is associated with race and explains the racial difference in survival.