IMRT Used Less in Black Prostate Cancer Patients

African Americans are less likelythan Caucasians to receive intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT) for localized prostate cancer (PCa), according to a study publishedonline in the American Journalof Men’s Health.

Using the Surveillance, Epidemiologyand End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database, EwanK. Cobran, PhD, of the Universityof Georgia College of Pharmacy,and collaborators studied 947black and 10,028 white mendiagnosed with localized PCa from2002 through 2006 and treatedwith either IMRT or non-IMRT. 

The proportion of patients whoreceived IMRT was 45% amongAfrican Americans and 53% amongCaucasians, a significant differencebetween the groups.

From the March 01, 2015 Issue of Renal and Urology News