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Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital concluded that patients’ race significantly affects their longevity by increasing mortality risk after receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Full findings from the study are published in Cancer.
Medical records for over 7,000 men from the Chicago Prostate Cancer Center with low or favorable-intermediate risk prostate cancer were analyzed. ADT was administered to 20% of patients to reduce the size of the prostate to make them eligible for prostate brachytherapy.
The results showed that after a median follow-up of 8.04 years, 869 men died: 48 due to prostate cancer and 821 of other causes. A significant association was seen between African-American race and an increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 1.77, 95% CI: 1.06–2.94; P=0.028) and other-cause mortality (AHR 1.86, 95% CI: 1.08–3.19; P=0.024) vs. non-African-American men who received ADT.
This finding suggests “there may be something intrinsic to the biology of African-American men that predisposes them to this increased risk of death and that this deserves further study,” Konstatin Kovtun, MD, explained. This study was the first to report the negative effects of ADT regarding racial differences after adjusting for age, comorbidities (eg, heart disease) and established prostate cancer prognostic factors.
Study authors added that clinicians should consider reserving ADT for higher risk prostate cancer patients. More research is needed to evaluate the decreased survival among African-American men after ADT use.
For more information visit onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
