Prostate cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies among men worldwide and remains the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, the estimated new cases of prostate cancer are 164,690 and the deaths from this disease are estimated at 29,430 in the United States in 2018.  African-American (AA) men are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer compared to men of other ancestral backgrounds, and AA men are often diagnosed at an earlier age with more advanced and aggressive prostate cancer compared to any other racial/ethnic groups. The overall prostate cancer incidence and mortality rate are remarkably higher in AA men; AA men are 1.6 times more likely to develop prostate cancer, and are ~2.5 times more likely to die from this disease compared to Caucasian American (CA) men. Recent data suggest that the prostate cancer incidence is declining, yet the overall prostate cancer-related mortality continues to rise among AA men. In addition to known risk factors that may play a role in AA men having a higher incidence of more aggressive and advanced prostate cancer, a growing body of evidence now suggests that biological factors such as differences at the genetic and molecular level play crucial roles in racial disparities in prostate cancer incidence and outcome seen in AA men. Recent studies show that molecular factors such as genetic modifications, epigenetic changes, altered microRNAs, and signaling pathways (hormone receptor, growth factor receptor, and inflammation signaling pathways) are associated with prostate cancer racial disparities. Apart from surgery and chemotherapy, hormonal therapy is the most common treatment of choice for advanced stages of the disease; hormonal therapy is primarily based on the inhibition of androgen production or function. Prostate cancer cells develop resistance to hormonal therapy over time leading to castration resistant disease which ultimately results in mortality. All current treatments are not specific to different ethnic and racial groups. However, recognition of major biological and genetic differences observed in prostate cancer cells between AA men and men of other ethnic backgrounds provides an opportunity to develop specific drugs to target these biological factors in AA men to develop race specific drugs to treat prostate cancer in the population which is most vulnerable to this disease.<br/>

Prostate cancer health disparities in African-American men: Possible targets for race specific drug development

2019 Spring National Meeting

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