Risk Among Various Races
In the U.S. the risk of prostate cancer certainly does vary among the races. If you are an African American, your risk is dramatically higher than other men. African Americans have the world's highest rate of prostate cancer, facing a 30- to 50-percent higher risk than Caucasians and twice the mortality rate. This has prompted recommendations for African Americans to be screened for prostate cancer beginning at about the age 40 or 45, as opposed to age 50, which is generally considered the standard age to begin screening, for men who so choose.
The risk of prostate cancer is intermediate among Caucasians and is lower among Asian, Hispanics, and Native Americans in the U.S. Incidence rates in 1996 were:
| Race or Ethnicity | Incidence Rate of Prostate Cancer in 1996 (per 100,000) |
| African American | 222.9 |
| Caucasian | 147.3 |
| Hispanic | 2.8 |
| Asian | 81.5 |
| Native American | 46.5 |
At all ages, rates are higher among African Americans than Caucasians. And prostate cancer tends to be diagnosed at an earlier age and at a later stage in African Americans than Caucasians. Survival is also related to ethnicity, with 5-year survival rates of Caucasians with localized, regional, or metastatic prostate cancer being 95%, 87%, and 30%, respectively, compared to rates of 88 %, 69%, and 23%, respectively, for African Americans.
African Americans have the world's highest rate of prostate cancer, facing a 30- to 50-percent higher risk than Caucasians and twice the mortality rate. Researchers are investigating whether hormonal factors may make African Americans more susceptible to the disease, but it is also suspected that a difference in diet and genetic makeup may put them at higher risk.
One theory is that African Americans typically eat fewer foods rich in cancer-protective substances and also consume more dietary fat than native Africans. They also seem to be more likely than Caucasians and other men to carry one form of a gene called HPC1 that puts them at higher risk.
