An Epidemiological Study of Genetic Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer in African-American and Caucasian Males

Study Summary

This study will examine the association of genetic variants and gene expression patterns with the risk of prostate cancer. There will be (It will include?) genotype analysis of blood DNA from 600 patients with the disease and from 600 healthy people, and there will be a gene expression analysis of prostate tumors. Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death among men in Western countries. It is estimated that 220,000 or more new cases of the disease will occur in the United States during 2004. The disease incidence is rising. About 25% to 30% of the cancers become aggressive. The nonhereditary disease rarely occurs in men who are younger than age 40. There are large differences in incidence by geography and race. The highest rates are seen among African-American men in the United States. Also, although Caucasians have a lower rate of disease incidence and mortality in the United States, the rates among them are high compared with rates in some European countries. The reasons for such differences are not well understood, but both environmental and genetic risk factors are thought to be involved. Patients ages 40 to 80 years who have had prostate cancer confirmed within the past 6 months, who reside in Baltimore City or adjacent metropolitan counties, and who were born in the United States may be eligible for this study. They will be recruited in collaboration with the Departments of Pathology and Urology at the University of Maryland and the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Those men serving as controls in this study will be identified through the Department of Motor Vehicles database and will be matched by age and race with the patients who have cancer. The study will include 600 participants with prostate cancer and 600 participants in the control group. Trained interviewers will administer two questionnaires. The primary questionnaire will be used to assess information such as medical and cancer history, tobacco use, current medications, occupational h