African-American men have better post-RP sexual function than Caucasians

African-American men have significantly higher sexual and urinary function 5 years after prostatectomy than Caucasian men, according to study results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2004; 22:1-9).

The Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study, supported by the National Cancer Institute, includes nearly 3,500 prostate cancer patients. Six centers followed men from six cancer registries across the country. The men had been diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1994 and 1995.

"We found that African-American men had significantly higher sexual and urinary function five years after prostatectomy than non-Latino white men," said Ann S. Hamilton, PhD, of the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and the study's senior author.

Dr. Hamilton noted that African-American men indicated slightly more bother from their change in sexual function.

"We couldn't really explain why that might be," she said.

Researchers followed 1,475 Caucasian men, 321 African-American men, and 279 Latino men who were treated with prostatectomy or radiation therapy.

Five year after surgery, nearly 44% of African-American men had erections firm enough for sexual intercourse, while about 28% of Latino men and 22% of Caucasian men could say the same. Men from different racial groups who were treated through radiation therapy showed no significant differences in their recovery of sexual, urinary, or bowel function after treatment, the authors noted.