ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the trends in incidence and age-distribution of prostate cancer in Kingston and St Andrew (KSA), Jamaica, over the 30-year period 1978–2007.

Methods: From published Jamaica Cancer Registry (JCR) data, we extracted age-standardized rates of prostate cancer for the six 5-year reporting periods that comprised the 30-year study span, and from the archived files of the JCR, the patient ages at diagnosis for all prostate cancer cases recorded over the 30-year period were extracted. The results were compared with data from other black populations.

Results: The incidence of prostate cancer in KSA, Jamaica, is lower than that in black men in the United States and United Kingdom. The KSA incidence showed a progressive increase since the 1983–1987 reporting period, and the greatest 5-year percentage increases were seen over the period 1983 to 1997. Men in the 60–74-year age group were the commonest contributors to prostate cancer total in all 5-year periods examined, and between 1988 and 2007, there were increases in the proportionate contributions from the 25–59 and 60–74-year age groups, and a decrease in contribution from men aged 75 years and older.

Conclusion: The incidence of prostate cancer in KSA, Jamaica, has been progressively increasing since 1983, and there has been a concomitant increase in the proportionate contribution from younger men. Continued increase is likely over the next several years, but KSA currently appears to be a relatively low-risk region for prostate cancer, compared to black populations in developed Western countries.