What this means for Black residents of New Mexico
The prostate cancer mortality figure for Black residents of New Mexico varies by year and reporting cell. See the CDC WONDER + NCI SEER dataset for the latest.
Black men have the highest prostate cancer incidence and mortality of any racial group in the United States — roughly 2.2 times the white mortality rate. In New Mexico, the policy and clinical focus is on earlier PSA screening (USPSTF guidelines recommend shared decision-making starting at 45 for Black men vs. 50 for the general population), and on equal access to radiation oncology + urology consultation once a diagnosis is made. Retrospective analyses from the Veterans Affairs health system — where insurance access is equalized — show much smaller Black-white survival gaps than in the civilian health system, suggesting that access, not biology, drives most of the mortality difference.
The figures on this page are drawn from CDC WONDER + NCI SEER, which is the canonical public dataset for this indicator. See the References section below for supporting citations from MMWR, NEJM, and JAMA where the underlying drivers have been studied.
Policy actions
Policy levers at the state level for this indicator include Medicaid coverage scope, provider workforce investments, and data transparency mandates. The state's health department publishes the specific programs currently funded via its annual state health plan.
Where to get help in New Mexico
- Urologists in New Mexico: Black Health directory
- Prostate Cancer Foundation: pcf.org/patient-resources
- ZERO Prostate Cancer (free + low-cost PSA screening events): zerocancer.org
References & primary sources
- Primary dataset: CDC WONDER + NCI SEER
- NCI SEER Cancer Statistics Review — Prostate Cancer.
- Yamoah K et al. Racial and ethnic disparities in prostate cancer outcomes in the VA system. JAMA Netw Open. 2020.
Data refreshed:
Where to go next
A number changes nothing on its own. These are the New Mexico pages that act on it.
Prostate cancer mortality in the states with the largest Black populations
- Texas 41.60 per 100,000 Black men, age-adjusted · ranked 15 of 51
- Georgia 43.80 per 100,000 Black men, age-adjusted · ranked 3 of 51
- Florida 39.80 per 100,000 Black men, age-adjusted · ranked 25 of 51
- New York 38.20 per 100,000 Black men, age-adjusted · ranked 28 of 51