Black men in England are twice as likely to both be diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer as white men, according to a British study The Guardian reported.
The new figures could help individuals better understand their risk of developing prostate cancer and make an informed decision about whether or not to have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.
"We already knew that black men were more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men, however, the data we had was fast becoming out of date," Alison Cooper, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "The study also provides important absolute risk figures to help black men better understand their risk of developing prostate cancer."
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United Kingdom, with 41,736 diagnoses in 2011, and it is predicted to become the United Kingdom's most commonly diagnosed cancer overall by 2030.
For the study, researcher examined prostate cancer incidence and mortality data for England for the period 2008-2010 from a combination of sources including Public Health England, Office for National Statistics, and the national census, yielding a total sample size of 25,635,649 men, including 102,252 prostate cancer diagnoses and 26,521 deaths due to prostate cancer.
Based on their findings, researchers estimated that the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in England is approximately 1 in 8 for white men, 1 in 4 for black men (including Black African, Black Caribbean and Other Black) and 1 in 13 for Asian men (including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Other Asian), The Independent reported.
The lifetime risk of dying from prostate cancer in England is estimated to be approximately 1 in 24 for white men, 1 in 12 for black men and 1 in 44 for Asian men.
The findings, which are detailed in the journal BMC Medicine, highlight the urgent need for more routine collection of data that captures ethnicity.
