PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN AND PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF PROSTATE-CANCER IN BLACK-AND-WHITE PATIENTS - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY BASED ON RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY SPECIMENS

Purpose: We compared the relationship of pathological features and pre operative prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels of a consecutive seri es of black patients to a stage matched cohort of white patients treat ed during the same period. Materials and Methods: The radical prostate ctomy specimens of 40 black patients were reviewed and tumor volume wa s determined. Histopathological features (stage, grade, zonal distribu tion of cancer foci), tumor volume and prostate weight were correlated to pretreatment serum PSA levels. These parameters were compared with those of 148 white patients matched by pathological stage. Results: B lack patients exhibited a significantly higher incidence of seminal ve sicle involvement (p = 0.03) and cancers with a Gleason score of 8 or more (p = 0.02), and a trend toward decreased pathologically organ con fined, margin negative disease (40% black versus 53% white men, p = 0. 13). Although the incidences of multifocal cancer were virtually ident ical (90 and 82%) in the 2 groups, black patients exhibited a higher i ncidence of transition zone cancer foci (p <0.001). Mean prostate tumo r volume, total gland weight and serum PSA level among black and white patients with pathological stage pT2-, pT2+ and pT3- cancer were not significantly different. However, with advancing pathological stage (p T3+ and pT3c) disease black patients had higher preoperative serum PSA levels on univariate and multivariate analyses despite similar total gland weight and tumor volume. Conclusions: Black patients who underwe nt radical prostatectomy often exhibited adverse pathological features . Two novel findings were that the distribution of cancer foci within the prostate was significantly different between black and white patie nts, and that serum PSA levels in patients with locally advanced prost ate cancer were higher in black than in white men, despite adjustment for known variables affecting PSA. These observations suggest that dif ferences in the biology of prostate cancer between these 2 races may e xist.