Comparisons of the incidence and pathological characteristics of prostate cancer between Chinese and Portuguese in Macau

Background Aging of population in Macau has become a serious problem and we are diagnosing more and more patients with prostate cancer. To investigate the effect of ethnicity and environment on incidence of prostate carcinoma, we compared the difference of biopsy and postoperative pathology of prostate between indigenous Chinese (Chinese) and Chinese of Portuguese descent (Portuguese) with elevated serologic prostate specific antigen (PSA) and incidence of prostate carcinoma in Macau. Methods Between 1999 and 2006, prostate biopsy was performed in a random sample of 462 patients with elevated serologic PSA who, on followup, were diagnosed in this hospital with benign prostate hyperplasia. Of these, 416 were indigenous Chinese, 46 Portuguese. Based on demographic statistics by Macau government for 2005, we compared differences in incidences of prostate carcinoma, positive rate of random prostate biopsy in patients with elevated serologic PSA, factors related to serological PSA and pathological grade and stage between both ethnic groups. Results Prostate carcinoma was diagnosed on biopsy in 178 cases. Positive biopsies of prostate carcinoma were present in 160 Chinese with positive rate of 38.5% and in 18 Portuguese with 39.1%. For patients diagnosed with prostate carcinoma, there was no significant difference in age, incidence, grade of cancerous cells, stage of the disease, incidence of inflammation of prostatic tissues or prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) related to elevated PSA between the groups (All P>0.05). Conclusions There was no significant difference in incidence or characteristics of prostate carcinoma between people of Portuguese and Chinese descent in Macau based on our limited data. Long term residence in the same environment may be associated with the incidence and progression of prostate carcinoma in Portuguese living in Macau, but further rigorous epidemiological investigation and analysis of risk factors about prostate carcinoma are needed to corroborate this conclusion.