Description: Black American men are at a higher risk for developing prostate cancer and dying from their illness, because they often lack access to routine health care, a new study suggests.

While black men face a greater than 60 percent higher risk for prostate cancer than whites, prior efforts to explain that disparity have focused on a mix of genetic predisposition, poor education, and a general distrust of the medical system among the black community.

But the new findings, to be published in the April 15 issue of Cancer, reveal that black American men are, in fact, well-educated when it comes to prostate cancer risk.

Instead, the authors find that, compared with white Americans, black men too often lack health insurance or a regular relationship with a primary care doctor. In those cases, the diagnosis and treatment of prostate trouble falls behind.

According to the study's lead author, the findings counter what he called the "blame-the-victim, p