In a study that examined the records of 5,747 black men and 38,242 white men with clinically localized prostate cancer, Paul A. Godley, M.D., Ph.D., of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his colleagues found that overall median survival time for black patients was 1.7 years less than that for white patients. Among patients who received surgery, black patients survived a median 1.8 years less than white patients (10.8 years vs. 12.6 years, respectively). The differences in median survival between black and white patients were smaller among patients treated with radiation and among patients who received nonaggressive treatment.

The authors explain that black patients with locally advanced prostate cancer may have had less access to specialized radiation therapy, which is preferred over surgery. Alternatively, there may be biologic factors that affect response to prostate cancer treatment. "Researchers should continue to investigate racial disparities in treatment outcomes as well as the specific social, biologic, or environmental conditions that may be responsible for these disparities," the authors conclude.

Contact: Dianne Shaw, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, 919-966-7834, dgs@med.unc.edu.

Genetic Disorder May Predispose Patients to HPV-Induced Cancers The rare genetic disorder Fanconi anemia may be associated with an increased susceptibility to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), according to a new study. David I. Kutler, M.D., and Bhuvanesh Singh, M.D., of the Memorial-Sloan-Ketterin
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Contact: Linda Wang
jncimedia@oupjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
18-Nov-2003