Prostate cancer risk among men of African descent

Odedina et al. have reviewed available data on the incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates of  prostate cancer among African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and men in West African nations historically associated with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. They note the very high incidence of prostate cancer among all these groups, which appears to reflect an ancestral genetic predisposition for prostate cancer. They also note that the morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer among African Americans has been falling since 1991; however, the rate of that fall is less that among Caucasian Americans.