However, as is the case with many diseases, prostate cancer survival rates are not the same across the world and this should give us the data that will permit us to improve our treatment methods.

In a recent study data was collected on nearly 117,000 men suffering from prostate cancer (including some 108,000 white men and almost 9,000 Asians drawn from the six largest Asian ethnicities - , Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, South Asian and Vietnamese). The study looked at prognostic factors and survival rates for these men.

Amongst the many findings of the study it was found that the risk profile for Asians was worse than that for whites, with Asian men being more likely to have advanced prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis and of being treated with a range of non-curative therapies. However, the study also found that the survival rates for Asian men were either equal to or better than the rates seen in white men.

These study results were somewhat surprising when we note that the age at which most Asian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer is considerably higher than that for white men and that their cancer is generally more advanced, which should clearly indicate a lower survival rate.

When the figures were studied in greater detail however it was revealed that there was considerable variation between different Asian groups. As an example, Japanese-American men were one-third less likely to die as a result of prostate cancer, while men from South Asia (including, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan) were forty percent more likely to die from the disease.

So what does this mean? Unfortunately the answer would appear to be not a great deal. These variations are undoubtedly big enough to be significant, but the wide variation between several broadly similar groups means that it is impossible to draw any real conclusions. Without doubt there are a number of things, such as exercise, diet and genetics, that are a factor but several of the findings appear to be almost contradictory.

As a result, a study that it was believed would identify differences between ethic groups which would permit us to improve our treatment options has actually raised more questions that it has answered. Indeed, other than pointing to the dangers of reaching conclusions based upon too broad a group, as witnessed in the difference between the figures for Asian men as a whole and South Asian men, the study has revealed that the differences were greater than most people had believed and thus suggest that the variations might be more significant than previously believed.

At the end of the day, this study has not taken us any further forward but it has highlighted the need for further investigation that will hopefully provide us with better data and allow us to exploit the higher survival rates amongst many Asian groups in formulating treatment plans for prostate cancer.