A recent study conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Georgia has shed light on racial disparities in microvascular function following a diagnosis of prostate cancer. The findings of this study will be presented at the American Physiology Summit, an annual meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS).
The study aimed to investigate vascular health in Black and white men who had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The researchers assessed vascular health by measuring large blood vessel function, small blood vessel function, and arterial stiffness. The results showed that Black men had significantly lower microvascular function compared to white men, which can be an early indicator of heart disease risk.
Despite being four years younger, the Black men in the study exhibited signs of microvascular dysfunction that could accelerate vascular aging and contribute to racial disparities in cardiovascular disease following a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Lead author Abigayle Simon, a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia, emphasizes the importance of understanding how race influences vascular health following a prostate cancer diagnosis in order to develop more effective therapeutic strategies to reduce the cardiovascular burden associated with cancer. The researchers hope that these findings will pave the way for new treatments to improve prostate cancer outcomes and eliminate racial disparities between Black and white men.