Black Men are Twice as Likely to Die of Prostate Cancer as White Men

Washington Informer July 30, 2015

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Andy Dang, a lab assistant at Genomic Health, labels cancer tissue sample transfer tubes for an RNA extraction process. The company's new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help men decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it. (Genomic Health/AP)

(Time) – White man’s risk of getting prostate cancer is approximately 1 in 8, whereas for black men the risk was 1 in 4

Black men are twice as likely to be diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer as white men, according to a new study.

The study, published online in BMC Medicine, looked at incidence and mortality data from Public Health England and found that in the U.K., a white man’s lifetime risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer was approximately 1 in 8, whereas for black men the risk was 1 in 4. Asian men fared the best, with a 1 in 13 risk for diagnosis.

Each group was equally likely to die from the disease once they were diagnosed, so proportionally more black men die from prostate cancer than white or Asian men.