Scientists are interested in the changes of the signature when a normal cell becomes a cancer cell. Dr. Ian Thompson's research group is seeking answers to this conundrum. Dr. Thompson's team applied statistical regression analysis to data from 288 African-American and 975 white men, all with metastatic prostate cancer. After we corrected for all measurable and known reasons why cancer survival is different, African-American men still had shorter survival than other men in the study. This difference emphasizes the importance of further studies investigating these differences with a goal of causing a fall in number of deaths from the disease.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in U.S. men.
An estimated 198,100 cases will be diagnosed in 2001. It will account for nearly one-third of new cancer cases in men this year. An estimated 31,500 U.S. deaths will be attributed to prostate cancer in 2001. Early detection has resulted in a decrease in prostate cancer deaths in recent years. A few reports suggest Asian and Hispanic men have lower incidence and mortality rates, as well.