Active surveillance and watchful waiting for low-risk prostate cancer in black patients: A population-based analysis.

Abstract

10 Background: Evidence from clinical trials supports conservative management as an acceptable alternative to definitive therapy for low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC). The optimal approach for Black men, however, remains unclear given trial underrepresentation and concern about racial differences in disease aggressiveness. We therefore sought to determine U.S. conservative management utilization rates for Black men with LRPC. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program Prostate with Active Surveillance/Watchful Waiting (AS/WW) Database queried 50,302 LRPC patients (N = 5218 Black), diagnosed from 2010-2015. Trends in AS/WW utilization over time were determined, stratified by race (Black versus non-Black) and number of positive biopsy cores (≤2 versus ≥3). Results: From 2010 to 2015, AS/WW utilization increased from 12.6% to 36.4% among Black men (Ptrend< 0.001) and from 14.8% to 43.3% among non-Black men (Ptrend< 0.001). AS/WW rates reached 52.0% and 57.3% by 2015 for Black (Ptrend< 0.001) and non-Black (Ptrend< 0.001) men with ≤2 positive biopsy cores, respectively. Rates continually increased for all subgroups except Black men with ≥3 positive biopsy cores, where rates plateaued at 22.9% by 2013. Conclusions: In this report from the largest U.S. population of Black LRPC patients with quality assured AS/WW data, AS/WW rates have nearly tripled for Black men from 2010-2015, suggesting AS/WW is viewed as a safe management option in all races.