Mass General Brigham Tackles Prostate Cancer Gap in Men of Color
TL/DR –
During the American Urological Association (AUA) 2024 Annual Meeting, Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, MBA, highlighted the issue of prostate cancer disparities among men of color. Trinh mentioned that while biology plays a role in prostate cancer outcomes, access to care is a significant factor in racial disparities. He discussed studies and efforts to address these disparities, including establishing a prostate cancer outreach clinic and utilizing the safety net initiative to ensure patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels receive necessary follow-up care.
Prostate Cancer Disparities in Men of Color Discussed at AUA 2024
During the American Urological Association’s (AUA) 2024 Annual Meeting, Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, MBA, emphasized the significance of racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes among men of color. Trinh, the chief of urology at Brigham & Women’s Faulkner Hospital, addressed issues surrounding access to care and biological factors related to prostate cancer in minority populations.
His Journal of Urology lecture, “Empowering Communities: Fostering Prostate Cancer Awareness and Resilience Among Men of Color” offered insight on both the causes of these disparities and the proposed solutions.
Trinh pointed out that despite technological advancements in healthcare, racial disparities persist in prostate cancer outcomes. In his lecture, he shed light on the challenge of access to care, referencing barriers faced by men of color, such as transportation burdens and mistrust towards large academic centers.
In contrast, when factors like access to care, treatment, and cancer characteristics were accounted for, Black patients showed improved overall advanced prostate cancer survival rates compared to White patients in simulated scenarios. However, Trinh underlined that these figures emerged from simulated scenarios and did not necessarily reflect real-world circumstances.
Trinh’s work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Prostate Cancer Workgroup was instrumental in revealing racial disparities in care delivery via a commissioned study. This study found that Black men were 22% less likely to receive definitive therapy for intermediate or high-risk prostate cancer in Massachusetts compared to White men, highlighting the need for equitable care delivery.
Trinh also referenced the 1981 conceptual model by Penchansky and Thomas, which identifies five dimensions of access to care: affordability, availability, acceptability, accommodation, and travel burden. As part of the solution, the workgroup proposed a comprehensive outreach program emphasizing patient engagement and stewardship.
Community engagement in health care involves collaborating with communities to address key issues, particularly in underserved areas such as low-resource neighborhoods, communities of color, and rural regions. As part of this initiative, a prostate cancer outreach clinic was established to foster trust and bring communities together through prostate cancer care.
Patient education events have proven successful, promoting public awareness about prostate cancer and rebuilding trust with communities of color. From 2022 to 2023, these efforts resulted in 407 patient referrals and 1316 new appointments amongst other achievements.
Trinh also discussed the Mass General Brigham’s prostate cancer safety net, a collaborative effort with the Department of Patient Safety and Patient Quality. This initiative ensures that patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels receive the necessary follow-up care, particularly focusing on men of color or those who may face language barriers.
Moving forward, the workgroup aims to expand the prostate cancer safety net, enhance navigation and multidisciplinary clinic offerings, and broaden the outreach clinic’s scope beyond prostate cancer. Trinh concluded his lecture by underscoring the importance of community outreach in mitigating social and environmental disparities across the country.
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