Update on prostate cancer in black men within the UK - Abstract

There is a wealth of evidence which can be traced back to the African transatlantic slave trade indicating that black men have a higher risk of prostate cancer compared to other ethnic groups.

Migration to Westernised countries may have had little effect on the incidence of prostate cancer in this ethnic group; however, current evidence indicates that there are several complex factors that may contribute to this risk. Studies in the UK quote that black men are at 2-3 times the risk of prostate cancer in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts, with a 30% higher mortality rate. Caution should be taken prior to the interpretation of these results due to a paucity of research in this area, limited accurate ethnicity data, and lack of age-specific standardisation for comparison. Cultural attitudes towards prostate cancer and health care in general may have a significant impact on these figures, combined with other clinico-pathological associations. This update summarises new contributory research on this subject, highlighting the need to increase awareness and understanding of prostate cancer amongst high-risk communities and to support further robust research in this area by nominating a lead in cancer and ethnicity studies within the National Health Service.

Written by:
Jones AL, Chinegwundoh F.   Are you the author?
Department of Urology, Barts NHS Health Trust, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BB, UK.

Reference: Ecancermedicalscience. 2014 Aug 28;8:455.
doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2014.455


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25228911

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