OBJECTIVETo investigate the differences in the onset age and pathology of prostate cancer between Uygurs and Hans in Xinjiang.

METHODSWe enrolled in this study 518 patients (138 Uygurs and 380 Hans) with prostate cancer confirmed between January 2002 and December 2011. We conducted comparative analyses on their ages, years of diagnosis and Gleason scores.

RESULTSThe incidence of prostate cancer increased year by year in both Uygur and Han people, but no statistically significant differences were found in the years of diagnosis between the two groups (chi2 = 1.063, P = 0.900). The median and mode ages of the Uygur patients were 70 and 63 years, and those of the Hans 73 and 71 years. The predilection age of prostate cancer was 70 -79 years in both the two groups. The Uygurs showed a significantly higher incidence of prostate cancer in the 50-59 yr and 60-69 yr groups than the Hans, but the results were just the opposite in the 80-89 yr group (chi2 = 40.375, P = 0.01). The median and mode of Gleason scores were 7 and 6 in the Uygurs, and 8 and 8 in the Hans, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (chi2 = 0.991, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe Uygurs differed from the Hans in the age of prostate cancer onset, but there were no significant differences in the annually increased incidence and pathological stage of prostate cancer between the Uygurs and Hans in Xinjiang.