Biomarkers in the Detection of Prostate Cancer in African Americans
Abstract
This grant focuses on identifying molecular features of prostatic adenocarcinomas (PrCa) from African Americans (AAs) which we hypothesize may differ from the molecular features of PrCas from European Americans (EAs). We give priority to characteristics found to be associated with PrCa aggressiveness, because the differential expression of those characteristics may, in part, explain why AAs tend to have more aggressive PrCa than EAs. Genes involved in fatty acid transport and metabolism have emerged as candidate markers for aggressive PrCa subtypes that are prevalent in AAs. We use an ancestry informed approach in which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) define more accurately the racial ancestry of our study subjects. AAs with PrCa are more often treated non-surgically and thus fewer radical prostatectomies are available to study PrCa in AAs. To overcome this disparity, this project focuses on the analysis of prostate biopsies. We use nitrocellulose blots (tissue prints) of prostate biopsies as a source of high quality RNA and DNA to identify molecular biomarkers that differ between AAs and EAs. These include PrCa generated field effects that modify adjacent prostate tissues even when they appear to be histopathologically normal; such field effects include epigenetic DNA hypermethylation with silencing of specific genes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA627254
Entities
People
- Sandra M. Gaston
Organizations
- University of Alabama