Asian Men More Likely to Survive Prostate Cancer

A new study shows that Asian men have a better chance of surviving prostate cancer, compared with white men. Researchers tracked prognostic factors and survival among a total of 116,916 non-Hispanic whites and six Asian subgroups (Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese) diagnosed with prostate cancer in California between 1995 and 2004.

Results showed that all Asian subgroups except South Asian men had lower risk for death from prostate cancer, compared with non-Hispanic whites, despite the fact that the Asians in the study had more unfavorable distributions of certain risk factors (stage and grade of cancer and level of treatment received) that should have put them at a survival disadvantage.

The differences may be due to environmental factors, such as diet.