Creighton University to study hereditary factors of prostate cancer among African Americans

Creighton University's Hereditary Cancer Center, has received a three-year, $731,278 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the role heredity plays in prostate cancer among African Americans.

"Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States,. African American men have two times the occurrence of prostate cancer as do Caucasian men and suffer a significantly higher mortality as well," said Henry Lynch, M.D., principal investigator and Creighton Hereditary Cancer Center director.

While it's estimated that about 10 percent of all prostate cancers have a hereditary link, the problem has been understudied in African Americans. With few exceptions, relatively little is known about the role genetics play in this population, noted Lynch, holder of the Charles F. and Mary C. Heider Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.

The study will focus on identifying the hereditary factors of the disease that are specific to African Americans. The goal is to develop early and intensive screening and prevention management strategies that will decrease African Americans' incidence of as well as death rate from hereditary prostate cancer, he said.