Interracial differences in prostate cancer progression among patients from the United States, China and Japan

Although previous studies indicate interracial differences in prostate cancer epidemiology based on gene expression profiles among patients from the United States, China and Japan, evidence at the genetic and phenotypic levels that these differences exist and manifest along ethnic lines has been sparse. Recent studies, however, suggest that genetic differences, such as the lower incidence of Chinese prostate cancers harboring TMPRSS2-ERG translocations compared to patients from Western countries, should be carefully considered in the context of genotypic and phenotypic differences among interracial groups. New, more efficient technologies need to be developed to validate genetic, gene expression and/or phenotypic differences associated with prostate cancer tissue specimens obtained from interracial groups, to establish reliable clinical standards that take racial/ethnic data into account to improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients with prostate cancer.