BACKGROUND: The role of race in modifying the association among diabetes, obesity, and prostate cancer (CaP) progression is not well studied. We evaluated diabetes and obesity in association with time to CaP progression in White Americans (Whites) and Black Americans (Blacks). METHODS: Our study sample consisted of 363 White and 284 Black research participants from the Health Care Access and CaP Treatment in North Carolina (HCaP-NC) cohort. The association between self-reported diabetes or obesity and CaP progression (mean follow-up time approximately 5 years) was assessed using Cox proportional hazards modeling, with adjustment for potential confounders. Stratum-specific hazard ratio (HR) estimates for Whites and Blacks were evaluated. RESULTS: Self-reported diabetes was not associated with CaP progression in the cohort as a whole (HR: 0.86, 95%CI: 0.54, 1.35), or among racially defined groups (Whites, HR: 1.03, 95%CI: 0.50, 2.13 or Blacks, HR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.43, 1.39). Obesity was positively associated with CaP progression among Whites, in models including (HR: 1.79, 95%CI: 1.08, 2.97), and excluding (HR: 1.80, 95%CI: 1.09, 2.96) diabetes as a covariate. No association was observed between obesity and CaP progression in Blacks or the cohort as whole. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported diabetes was not associated with CaP progression In HCaP-NC. Obesity was associated with CaP progression only among White research participants
