Characterization of prostatic carcinoma among blacks: a preliminary report

This study was designed to compare United States (Washington, DC) black prostatic carcinoma patients (high-risk group) with Nigerian (Ibadan) black prostatic carcinoma patients (low-risk group). Although the material is meager, preliminary analyses suggest that carcinoma of the prostate is a common disease in both US black men (196 of 1000 autopsies) and in Nigerian black men (67 of 1000 autopsies). The tumor tends to be of a higher histologic grade (less well differentiated) and the carcinomatous foci are more numerous in the Nigerian patients. Fifty-three percent of US patients are in stages I and II when the disease is first discovered. Plasma testosterone, estrone, and estradiol concentrations did not differ significantly between US patients and controls. A statistically significant positive association is indicated between carcinoma of the prostate and the following epidemiologic variables: racial admixture, age of puberty, and age of first coitus. The median age of necropsy cases with carcinoma was 50.0 years in Nigeria and 68.3 years in the US.