Choices for prostate cancer treatment often depend upon race, marital status, new study shows

• Surgery to remove the prostate and radiation therapy are the two recommended treatments for prostate cancer, but a man's race and marital status appear to influence which of these treatments he will ultimately prefer, researchers find.
• Blacks are more likely to choose radiation therapy, while whites more often opt for invasive surgery to eradicate prostate cancer, according to a new study.
• It also found that single men are more likely to undergo radiation compared to married men, who are more likely to choose surgery to fight their disease.
• Despite these differences in treatments, all groups studied ended up receiving equal levels of care, according to the report in the March 28 online edition of Cancer.
• "We wanted to see what treatment these men received," he said.
• The researchers found that, for all groups, access to curative therapy was equal.
• However, "African-Americans were significantly less likely to get prostatectomy as a form of curative treatment," Denberg said.
• About 14 percent of blacks underwent surgery compared with 22 percent of whites.
• Among Latinos, 28 percent underwent surgery, according to the study.
• "Being married also seems to be associated with higher rates of receiving curative therapy," Denberg said.
• African-Americans are more worried about impotence as a side effect of surgery," Denberg suggested.
• It's also possible that doctors are stereotyping their patients and not presenting all the treatment options, he added.
• The findings suggest doctors should "pay more attention" to patient factors such as race or marital status "if we want to maximize the ability of people to participate in their own care decisions," Denberg said.
• These findings are not true of prostate cancer alone, said Dr. Herman Kattlove, a medical oncologist and spokesman for the American Cancer Society.