Comorbid medical conditions in North Carolina Prostate Cancer Patients

Undergraduate: Turner Wibbelsman

Faculty Advisor: Ronald Chen
Department: Biology

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Often, when a patient is diagnosed with cancer, the patient¿¿¿s other medical conditions become ignored or considered less important. However, prostate cancer is a disease of the elderly, and many patients may have other important medical issues which need to be addressed during cancer treatment and in subsequent follow-up. In addition, a common form prostate cancer treatment, androgen deprivation therapy, can increase risk for heart disease and diabetes.

In this project, patients from all 100 counties across North Carolina with newly-diagnosed prostate cancer were enrolled on a clinical study; the presence of other medical conditions was ascertained by reviewing their medical records. The well-established Charlson Comorbidity Index and the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 were utilized to score the extent of comorbid medical conditions. The study shows a high prevalence of heart disease and hypertension among prostate cancer patients. Ultimately, this study supports the need for continued primary and preventive care in the cancer population to best manage these important medical conditions even after a cancer diagnosis.