ETHNIC VARIATION IN PROSTATE-CANCER SURVIVAL IN NEW-MEXICO

Prostate cancer survival varies markedly by ethnicity, American Indian s and blacks have the lowest 5-year relative survival among ethnic gro ups in the U.S, In New Mexico, relative survival for prostate cancer i s lower for ethnic minority groups than for non-Hispanic whites, To ex amine factors underlying ethnic differences in prostate cancer surviva l in New Mexico, we analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Resul ts Program data collected by the New Mexico Tumor Registry from 1983 t o 1992, Unadjusted relative risk (RR) of death after prostate cancer d iagnosis was greater for Hispanics [RR = 1.1; 95% confidence interval (CE), 1.0, 1.2], American Indians (RR = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2, 1.5), and bl acks (RR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2, 1.7) than for non-Hispanic whites, After adjusting for age, stage, histological grade, year of diagnosis, and i nitial treatment, the risk for Hispanics (RR = 1.0; 95% CI, 0.9, 1.1), American Indians (RR = 1.0; 95% CI, 0.9, 1.1), and non-Hispanic white s was comparable, Although based on small numbers, adjusted risk ratio s among blacks remained elevated (RR = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.9, 1.6), due in part to lower survival during the first 12 months after diagnosis (RR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2, 3.3) and poorer survival following radical prostat ectomy (RR = 4.2; 95% CI, 1.3, 13), These findings suggest that poorer survival for Hispanics and American Indians may be explained by delay ed detection and differences in treatment.