National Cooperative Study of Hereditary Prostate Cancer in African-Americans

Introduction

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men, causing more than 40,000 deaths annually. Although it can occur in men of all ages, it most often strikes those over the age of 65. Scientists are just beginning to study why prostate cancer is more prevalent in African-American men than in any other population, and are focusing closely on the role of inherited factors. For every 100,000 African-American men, for example, about 181 will have prostate cancer this year, 54 of whom will die from the disease.

Recently, scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) mapped the location of a gene associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. They estimate alterations in this gene, called HPC-1, are responsible for at lease one-third of the prostate cancer that runs in families. Approximately one in every 500 men is believed to possess an altered version of HPC-1. Initial studies suggest that HPC-1 may play a particularly prominent role in early onset familial prostate cancer among African-Americans, but only a few such families have been analyzed.

Howard University in Washington, D.C. has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to organize a national study network to find genes involved in hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in African-Americans. They will collaborate on this study with seven medical centers across the United States.

About the Study

This project is the first large-scale genetic study of African-Americans conducted almost entirely by African-American clinical investigators and scientists. The researchers are seeking national collaboration and cooperation in this study because the kinds of families required are rare. To qualify for this study, a family must be of African descent, and have at least four blood relatives who have prostate cancer, three of whom must be available for blood sampling. Eligible families should contact one of the researchers listed. Family members not living in the area may enroll at any of the seven collaborating centers. Over the next two years, the studies hope to enroll 100 families.

Howard University and NHGRI have established a center for collaborative research on genomic analysis of diseases that disproportionately affect African-Americans. The center will also lay the foundation for training African-American graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in human genome research. For the prostate cancer study, the Howard center received additional support from the NIH Office of Research on Minority Health and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to fund collaborative recruitment centers in seven major metropolitan areas, including Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; and Detroit, MI.

Sponsored by The National Human Genome Research Institute and Howard University

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