Differences in clinical characteristics and disease‐free survival for Latino, African American, and non‐Latino white men with localized prostate cancer

Abstract

Objective Depression symptom measures that include somatic symptoms may inflate severity estimates among medically ill patients, including patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma). The 9‐item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) is increasingly used to assess depressive symptoms in medical settings, but it is not known whether PHQ‐9 scores are influenced by somatic symptoms common in medical illness. The objective was to assess whether SSc patients had higher somatic symptom scores on the PHQ‐9 than non–medically ill respondents from the general population matched on cognitive/affective scores. Methods SSc patients from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry were matched with respondents from a random population survey of Alberta, Canada residents who were without chronic disease on total PHQ‐9 cognitive/affective scores (5 items), sex, and, as close as possible, age. PHQ‐9 somatic scores (4 items) were compared between SSc patients and healthy Alberta survey respondents using t‐tests for unadjusted analyses and analysis of covariance to adjust for age differences that remained after matching. Results Somatic symptoms accounted for 64% of the total PHQ‐9 scores for 762 matched SSc patients (n = 837 total) compared to 56% for 762 matched Alberta population survey respondents (n = 3,304 total), a mean difference of 1.0 point, or 19% of the total scores for the SSc patients (Hedges's g = 0.38). After adjusting for age, the mean difference increased to 1.4 points, reflecting 25% of the SSc patients' total scores (Hedges's g = 0.55). Conclusion PHQ‐9 scores among patients with SSc may include a small to moderate amount of variance from somatic symptoms that are not necessarily related to depression.

Racial Variation in the Quality of Surgical Care for Prostate Cancer

“…Our findings of racial variation in outcomes of PCa are consistent with other population-based studies and with national cancer statistics 1-5, 15-18 . Some variation can be attributed to differences in stage at presentation 2 and clinical management 19-22 , and possibly to biological explanations 23, 24 .…”

Interplay of Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Treatment on Survival of Patients With Prostate Cancer

“…Significantly smaller proportions of black than white men received RP for treatment of either localized or regional prostate cancer. The racial disparity in use of RP for treatment of localized/regional prostate cancer is well documented 8, 9, 22, 23. In our population of men with regional stage cancer, those treated with RP as compared to RT had a 3-times lower hazard of death after adjusting for SES, tumor grade, age and race.…”

A Review of Cancer in U.S. Hispanic Populations

“…For 2002 to 2006, the incidence rate was 131 per 100,000, about 10% lower than in NHW (11). Despite similar distributions by stage at diagnosis, prostate cancer survival rates in Hispanic men are lower than those in NHW men (13, 52). The most important risk factors for prostate cancer in both Hispanics and NHW men are age and a family history of prostate cancer in first-degree relatives (53).…”