A family history of cancer and genetic variants that could be inherited appear to be important risk factors for black men diagnosed with early-onset prostate cancer, a study with Duke Health researchers has found.
Kathleen Cooney, MD, chair of Duke’s Department of Medicine, is lead author of the study, which appears online Nov. 29 in the journal JCO Precision Oncology.
Genetic studies typically recruit non-Hispanic white men, even though data show that black men are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from the disease compared to their white counterparts.
Researchers sought to address this health disparity by identifying genetic variants in black patients diagnosed with early-onset prostate cancer.
They sequenced the germline DNA of 743 black men diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 62 or younger. This is the DNA found in men’s sperm cells, meaning it would contain genetic changes that could be passed on to a child.
The focus was on DNA damage repair genes and HOXB13, a gene that Cooney’s research team found to be associated with hereditary prostate cancer in white men. The researchers identified 26 variants in 14 genes that could cause disease among 30 men, about 4% of the patients studied.
We completed the sequencing at Duke, and our results reveal that men who had certain genetic variants were more likely to have a close relative diagnosed with cancer, have a higher prostate-specific antigen at diagnosis, and have more severe cases.” .
Kathleen Cooney, MD, chair of the Duke Department of Medicine
“We need to look more closely at genetic associations to learn more about the susceptibility of black men to developing prostate cancer,” Cooney said. “This could reduce health disparities.”
The reason for poor outcomes among black men diagnosed with prostate cancer includes both biological and social causes, such as access to health care. Data from a previous study reveal that genetic makeup may account for up to 40% of all prostate cancer cases.
“November is Men’s Health Awareness Month, and we hope these findings will help black men become more aware of their susceptibility to early-onset prostate cancer,” Cooney said. “If men know they have a family history of cancer, it’s important to talk to a doctor and consider genetic testing. If they end up with a mutation, they’re encouraged to get cancer screenings earlier and more often.”