Prostate Cancer Worse In Poor Men

Men with low incomes are more likely to have advanced prostate cancer when they get a diagnosis, probably because they don't receive screenings to catch the cancer in earlier stages, researchers from UCLA said.

In a study of 570 men in a program that provides high-quality care to poor or underinsured men, 19 percent had metastatic cancer when it was diagnosed. The researchers said the rate is 4 percent in the general population.

Previous studies have shown that widespread adoption of PSA screening for prostate cancer has resulted in more men being diagnosed with low-risk disease that stays in that one organ. This trend was not been seen in poorer men.

Recent attention has been given to the fact that screenings can catch cancers that would never have developed into a problem but lead to treatments with side effects. These findings "serve as a reminder that for disadvantaged men, under-detection and under-treatment of prostate cancer remains a significant concern," the study said.

"Improving access to the preventive and treatment aspects of health care will go a long way toward reducing the disparities in disease morbidity and mortality suffered by poor and minority communities," said Dr. M. Norman Oliver, director of the University of Virginia Center of Health Disparities.

The study was published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of Urology.