Prostate cancer and the Filipino: A review of published data

ABSTRACT

Filipinos have often been classified as a race having low risk for developing prostate cancer (CaP), and likewise a low risk of dying from the disease. This has mostly been based on information indicating similar patterns among men of Asian decent. But with the changing trends in the disease, both worldwide and in the Asian region, should Filipinos continue to be regarded as such? To attempt to answer this question, a literature search was performed using the following online databases Medline, SUMsearch, CancerLit, and National Library of Medicine Gateway. The search terms used were "prostate cancer," "Filipino," "Asians," "incidence," and "prognosis." A total of 39 publications were included in this review. In all the studies that segregated Asians into its component subpopulations, Filipinos were noted to have the highest incidence rate (IR) among Asians residing locally, and also the highest or second highest IR among Asian immigrants residing abroad. Studies that focused on the Asian region consistently found an increasing trend in IR of CaP for all subpopulations, with the Philippines experiencing one of the fastest rising IR. Filipinos, both residing abroad and locally, were also observed to have the highest mortality rate (MR) among all the Asian subpopulations included, with an even higher MR than Caucasians reported by certain studies. Evidence was found in this review suggesting that Filipino men may not have the low risk of developing and dying from CaP, as is popularly believed, and may have similar risk of death from CaP as Caucasians.