Global spatiotemporal trends in prostate cancer burden and its socioeconomic disparities: An observational study from 1990 to 2021.

325 Background: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men globally, posing significant health challenges. Conflicting findings on its global burden and trends necessitate updated analyses. This study provides recent estimates of prostate cancer's global, regional, and national burden from 1990 to 2021, analyzes temporal trends, and offers epidemiological insights for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. Methods: We analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 on prostate cancer cases, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from 1990 to 2021, including age-standardized rates (ASRs) for incidence, mortality, and DALYs. Trend analyses utilized average annual percent change (AAPC) calculations and joinpoint regression models. Age-period-cohort analysis assessed the effects of age, period, and cohort on incidence and mortality trends. Pearson correlation evaluated associations between ASRs and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) to explore socioeconomic impacts. Results: From 1990 to 2021, global prostate cancer cases, deaths, and DALYs increased, reflecting aging populations. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) showed a slight global increase (AAPC = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.05–0.25), while the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) decreased (ASMR AAPC = -0.83, 95% CI: -0.92 to -0.74; ASDR AAPC = -0.75, 95% CI: -0.82 to -0.68), indicating improved survival. High-SDI regions had decreasing ASMR and ASDR despite high ASIRs due to better detection and treatment. Low-SDI regions saw increases in ASIR, ASMR, and ASDR, with the highest mortality and DALY rates, indicating rising burden and potential healthcare access issues. Joinpoint regression showed initial increases then decreases in ASIR, ASMR, and ASDR, with regional differences in timing. Age-period-cohort analysis revealed age effects with rising incidence and mortality risks, declining incidence risk in the oldest age groups. Period effects showed incidence risk increasing until 2011–2017, then declining; mortality risk decreased over time. Cohort effects showed stable then increasing incidence risk in younger cohorts, while mortality risk decreased across cohorts, reflecting healthcare improvements. Conclusions: The global absolute burden of prostate cancer has increased, but age-standardized mortality and DALY rates have decreased, especially in high-SDI regions due to advancements in detection and treatment. Low-SDI regions face rising incidence and mortality, highlighting growing disparities. Targeted interventions and resource allocation in low-SDI regions are needed to address the increasing burden and reduce global health inequalities.