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Improvements in Prostate Cancer Mortality Plateaued From 2012 to 2021

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 4, 2025.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 4, 2025 -- Distant-stage prostate cancer increased and mortality rates plateaued throughout California during the 2010s, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Erin L. Van Blarigan, Sc.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined trends in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in California by stage, age, race and ethnicity, and region. The analysis included mortality data from the California Cancer Registry and California Department of Public Health Center for Health Statistics and incidence data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

Between 2004 and 2021, the researchers identified 387,636 prostate cancer cases (27,938 distant stage) and 58,754 prostate cancer deaths in California. Just over half of cases (52.4 percent) occurred among men aged 55 to 69 years, while 39.7 percent occurred among men aged 70 years and older. The distribution of cases by race and ethnicity included 0.3 percent in men identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, 8.1 percent among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander men, 17.2 percent among Hispanic or Latino men, 9.5 percent among non-Hispanic Black men, and 61.5 percent among non-Hispanic White men. From 2011 to 2021, the incidence of distant prostate cancer increased 6.7 percent annually. Increases in the incidence of distant prostate cancer by approximately 6 percent or more per year were seen in nine of the 10 California regions. From 2004 to 2012, prostate cancer mortality rates declined 2.6 percent per year but then plateaued between 2012 and 2021 across ages, races and ethnicities, and regions.

"Efforts to develop and implement evidence-based risk-stratified prostate-specific antigen screening are urgently needed to stop the rapid rise in distant-stage prostate cancer and prevent the anticipated subsequent rise in prostate cancer mortality," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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