Reliability of Self-Reported Gleason Scores in Studies of Sexual Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors

B. R.Simon Rosser, Badrinath R. Konety, Benjamin D. Capistrant, Aditya Kapoor, Elizabeth Polter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Introduction: In 2 studies prostate cancer survivors who were gay, bisexual or other men who had sex with men reported lower Gleason scores than heterosexual prostate cancer survivors. These results led some to speculate that men who have sex with men may undergo more intensive screening. Methods: In the largest study to date of prostate cancer survivors who were gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men 23 of 193 participants (11.9%) reported low Gleason scores (2 to 5). We attempted to contact these individuals and received replies from 14, for a 61% participation rate. Results: At the second inquiry most men clarified that they reported only a partial Gleason score rather than the sum score. They clarified that they interpreted the question to refer to their most common cell morphology score (scored 1 to 5) rather than their total Gleason sum. Conclusions: We found that the average lower score in this population was not a result of differences in screening, but likely a measurement error. We propose a revised Gleason item question to overcome this research artifact.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)224-227
Number of pages4
JournalUrology Practice
Volume7
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funded by National Cancer Institute Grant 1 R21 CA182041.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by American Urological Association Education and Research, INC.

Keywords

  • cancer survivors
  • neoplasm grading
  • prostatic neoplasms
  • sexual and gender minorities

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