Ethnic disparities in prostate cancer outcomes between African American and European American patients can partially be explained by genetic/biologic factors, according to a recent article printed in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
A total of 154 African American and European American patients from four medical centers were matched according to the Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment postsurgical score within each institution.
The distribution of mRNA expression levels of 20 validated biomarkers reported to be associated with prostate cancer initiation and progression was compared with ethnicity.
Continue Reading
RELATED: Study Suggests 90% of Advanced Prostate Cancers May Have Anomaly that May Influence Treatment
Of the 20 biomarkers examined, six showed statistically significant differential expression between groups: ERG (P<0.001), AMACR (P<0.001), SPINK1 (P=0.001, NKX3-1 (P=0.03), GOLM1 (P=0.03), and androgen receptor (P=0.04).
Dysregulation of GOLM1 (P=0.037), SRD5A2 (P=0.023) predicted clinical outcomes, including 3-year biochemical recurrence and metastasis at 5 years. A greater proportion of African American men than European men had triple-negative (ERG-/ETS-/SPINK1-negative) disease (51% vs. 35%; P=0.002).
Reference
- Yamoah K, Johnson MH, Choeurng V, et al. Novel biomarker signature that may predict aggressive disease in African American men with prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2015. [epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.59.8912.
