DECREASED SURVIVAL OF BLACK-AMERICANS WITH TESTICULAR CANCER

Purpose: A 14-year review of 215 consecutive patients with testicular cancer at the University of Illinois hospitals revealed that 25% were black. This large experience with this relatively rare cancer in black men provides a unique opportunity to compare the disease stage at pre sentation, histological tumor type and 5-year survival rates of black, white and Hispanic men. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the record s of patients with a diagnosis of testicular cancer treated at Univers ity of Illinois hospitals. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calcula te actuarial 5-year survival rates. Results: The overall percentages o f white, black and Hispanic men were 55 (119 men), 25 (53) and 18% (38 ), respectively. We found no significant differences in tumor types am ong the 3 racial groups. Overall 42 and 58% of the patients had semino ma and nonseminoma, respectively. Black men with some types of cancer have been shown to present with higher stages of disease but we noted no differences in clinical stage at presentation in all groups with te sticular cancer (average stage I disease in 45%, II in 31% and-III in 24%). Survival rates were 88% in white, 79% in Hispanic and 71% in bla ck patients. Conclusions: Black men had significantly decreased (z<0.0 2) 5-year disease specific survival, which was 17% less than white pat ients. The difference in disease specific survival for Hispanic men wa s not statistically significant. This review of 215 patients with test icular cancer revealed no differences in tumor type or stage at presen tation for white, black or Hispanic men. However, a review of these da ta suggests that disease specific survival outcomes are more ominous i n black men.