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Methodological considerations in the use of a large database to estimate incidence of prostate cancer in transgender women in the US

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

We read with interest the analysis of prostate cancer transgender women by Loria et al. [1].

We agree that the topic of cancer incidence in the transgender population is important and appreciate the potential impacts of barriers to healthcare, gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), and gender-affirming surgeries (GAS). However, we feel there are serious methodological issues that may lead to a misrepresentation of risk level, which we outline here.

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References

  1. Loria M, Gilbert D, Tabernacki T, Maravillas MA, McNamara M, Gupta S, et al. Incidence of prostate cancer in transgender women in the US: a large database analysis. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Mar 28]; Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38326392/.

  2. Dai C, Heemers H, Sharifi N. Androgen Signaling in Prostate Cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med [Internet]. 2017 Sep [cited 2024 Mar 28];7. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28389515/.

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  5. Brown J, Pfeiffer RM, Shrewsbury D, O’Callaghan S, Berner AM, Gadalla SM, et al. Prevalence of cancer risk factors among transgender and gender diverse individuals: a cross-sectional analysis using UK primary care data. Br J Gen Pract [Internet]. 2023;73:e486–92. https://bjgp.org/content/73/732/e486.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Alison M. Berner

  2. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Alison M. Berner & Leighton Seal

  3. Synnovis Analytics, London, UK

    Devon Buchanan

  4. St George’s University of London, London, UK

    Leighton Seal

  5. OUTpatients, The UK’s LGBTIQ+ Cancer Charity, London, UK

    Stewart O’Callaghan

Authors
  1. Alison M. Berner
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  2. Devon Buchanan
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  3. Leighton Seal
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  4. Stewart O’Callaghan
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Contributions

AMB, DB, LS, and SOC all wrote and reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison M. Berner.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Berner, A.M., Buchanan, D., Seal, L. et al. Methodological considerations in the use of a large database to estimate incidence of prostate cancer in transgender women in the US. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-024-00839-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-024-00839-7

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