Real-world analyses of major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality risk after androgen deprivation therapy initiation in black vs. white prostate cancer patients.

Background: Prostate cancer(PCa) patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy(ADT) may experience major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE) [1]. Racial disparities in PCa incidence and outcomes have been noted. In contrast to older studies, three recent studies found significantly longer overall survival in Black vs. White patients: 2019 meta-analysis of nine phase III trials in men with metastatic castration-resistant PCa(CRPC) (n = 8820) [2]; 2020 registry study in men with metastatic CRPC (n = 1902) [3]; and 2023 study in men with non-metastatic CRPC (n = 12,992) [4]. Our "real-world" data study compared MACE and all-cause mortality risk for Black vs. White PCa patients. Compared to prior studies [1-4], our study encompassed a broader scope and was not exclusive to CRPC patients.

Methods: Historical, longitudinal patient-level were collected from the Decision Resources Group (DRG, now Clarivate) Real World Evidence repository. The analysis included PCa patients receiving ≥1 ADT 1991-2020. Multivariable regression model accounted for baseline metastasis, BMI (<18.5 vs. ≥18.5 kg/m²), oncology vs. urology setting, antagonist vs. agonist, personal MACE history, tobacco history, baseline prostate-specific antigen (>4 vs. ≤4 ng/mL), race (White vs. Black), statin use, increasing age per year, ethnicity (non-Hispanic vs. Hispanic), increasing ADT exposure per year, diabetes, hypertension, and family MACE history.

Results: MACE risk was higher for White patients than Black (4.0% vs. 2.4% at one year after ADT initiation; 21.0% vs. 13.3% at four years). Mortality risk after ADT initiation was 1.6% and 2.6% at 1 year and 11.7% and 18.1% at 4 years for Black and White patients, respectively.

Conclusions: Our analysis reveals a unique finding that MACE and all-cause mortality incidence were higher in White vs. Black patients. Black race is associated with lower MACE rates and improved survival for men undergoing ADT treatment. Whether selection bias, underlying biology or other factors are responsible for these differences remains unknown.