What factors might contribute to the disproportionate burden of prostate cancer among African American/Black men?
The higher incidence of prostate cancer in African American/Black men compared with men from other racial/ethnic groups prompted the hypothesis that genetic factors might account, in part, for the observed differences. Recent findings from NCI’s Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) program (http://cgems.cancer.gov) and other investigations support this hypothesis. Researchers have identified changes—called variants—in human DNA that are associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer. Different combinations of these variants have been found in men from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, and each combination is associated with higher or lower risk for prostate cancer. Nearly all of the variants associated with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer were found most often in African American/Black men, and certain combinations of these variants were associated with a five-fold increased risk of prostate cancer in men of this racial/ethnic group (2). In additi
The higher incidence of prostate cancer in African American/Black men compared with men from other racial/ethnic groups prompted the hypothesis that genetic factors might account, in part, for the observed differences. Recent findings from NCI’s Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) program (http://cgems.cancer.gov) and other investigations support this hypothesis. Researchers have identified changes—called variants—in human DNA that are associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer. Different combinations of these variants have been found in men from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, and each combination is associated with higher or lower risk for prostate cancer. Nearly all of the variants associated with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer were found most often in African American/Black men, and certain combinations of these variants were associated with a five-fold increased risk of prostate cancer in men of this racial/ethnic group (2). In additi
