health

Prostate cancer treatment delayed longer for blacks than whites

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 10, 2013

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Black men with prostate cancer experience longer treatment delays after being diagnosed than do whites with the disease, said a study published online May 28 in the journal Cancer.

On average, the time from prostate cancer diagnosis to surgery or radiation treatment was 96 days for white patients and 105 days for blacks, the study said (link).

Researchers examined data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results SEER-Medicare database on 2,506 black men and 21,454 white men. The participants were diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 2004 and 2007 and treated within 12 months of diagnosis.

More studies are needed to assess what factors might delay treatment for black patients and what, if anything, can help eliminate this disparity, the study authors said.

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