"These data suggest that, while men of both races underestimate their chances of having prostate cancer, African American men are even more likely to do so. Such beliefs may cause these men at highest risk for prostate cancer to delay the pursuit of a diagnosis," says Dale.

"With this data, we can't say why the estimates are so low. We want to conduct more research to better understand the reasons for the overly low estimates," says Dale. "That would hopefully lead to greater attention to prostate cancer for those at highest risk such as African Americans."