Disparities in health-related quality of life between low-income Latino and white men with prostate cancer.

Abstract

e23187 Background: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the most diagnosed cancer among Latino men in the United States. Advances in screening and treatment for prostate cancer have led to an increased and growing cancer survivorship population with unique needs and quality of life impacts. Importantly, past literature has noted that Latino cancer survivors are more likely to experience poor quality of life compared to non-Latino whites, and prostate cancer studies examining these disparities between these two groups are warranted. Thus, we aimed to assess the health-related quality of life between Latino and white men with prostate cancer. Methods: We analyzed data between 2001 and 2018 from a prospective cohort of men enrolled in the Improving Access Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer (IMPACT) program which provides care for prostate cancer among low-income, uninsured men. Outcome variables included general quality of life measured using the RAND SF-12 (Short Form Survey, version 2) and prostate cancer-specific quality of life measured using the UCLA PCI (Prostate Cancer Index). We conducted independent t-tests and multivariate linear regressions to assess the health-related quality of life between white and Latino men. Results: Our sample included 356 men with prostate cancer with a mean age of 60 (SD = 6.7). 82% of our sample reported being Latino. Univariate analyses showed significant lower levels of quality of life for Latino men within the domains of general health (M = 37.7, SD = 11.8, p < 0.001), sexual function (M = 32.7, SD = 30.9, p < 0.01), sexual bother (M = 39.6, SD = 41.0, p < 0.01), and urinary function (M = 72.2, SD = 29.7, p < 0.05) compared to white men. In multivariate models, only the domains of general health ( b = -7.93, p < 0.01) and sexual bother ( b = -14.33, p < 0.05), remained significantly lower among Latino men compared to white men after controlling for age, relationship status, education level, income, comorbidities, Gleason score, and treatment type. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there are disparities in health-related quality of life between Latino and white men with prostate cancer, particularly within the domains of general health and sexual bother. These results underscore the need for future research to examine these domains among Latino men in order to provide culturally responsive care and targeted support within prostate cancer survivorship care. The analyses, interpretations, and conclusions in this abstract are those of the authors, not the State of California.