(HealthDay News) — When accounting for social determinants of health (SDOH), Black patients have a lower risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality than White patients, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers examined the association of SDOH with prostate cancer-specific mortality and overall survival among Black and White patients. Data were reviewed from 47 studies with 1,019,908 patients (176,028 Black patients and 843,880 White patients) who were followed for a median of 66.0 months.
Overall, there was no significant difference in prostate cancer-specific mortality between Black and White patients (hazard ratio [HR] for Black patients, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.99-1.19; P =.08). Similarly, there was no significant difference in overall survival between Black and White patients (HR for Black patients, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.95-1.07; P =.68).
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However, there was a significant race-SDOH interaction for both prostate cancer-specific mortality (regression coefficient, −0.041; 95% CI, –0.059 to 0.023; P <.001) and overall survival (meta-regression coefficient, −0.017; 95% CI, –0.033 to –0.002; P = .03).
Black patients had a significantly higher risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality than White patients in studies with minimal accounting for SDOH (<5-point score; HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.17-1.41; P <.001).
On the other hand, the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality was significantly lower among Black patients in studies with greater accounting for SDOH variables (≥10-point score; HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77-0.96; P =.02).
“These results underscore the importance of accounting for SDOH in racial disparity research,” the study authors wrote. “Addressing inequities in SDOH represents modifiable social factors that require attention to reduce the long-standing disparity in prostate cancer health outcomes.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical and other industries.
