About this Research Topic
Prostate cancer is characterized by significant health disparity. While overall, African Americans show no difference in lifetime risk for a cancer diagnosis or cancer-associated mortality, the figures are dramatically skewed for prostate cancer. Specifically, incidence and mortality rates are 1.6- and 2.4-fold greater for African Americans than for European Americans, respectively, with mortality rates reported to increase as much as 3-fold for African American men less than 65 years of age. Compared with American men of Asian ancestry, risk for prostate cancer associated death is as much as 5-fold for African Americans.
Globally, men from the Caribbean have the highest mortality rates, with rates for Sub-Saharan Africa over double those reported for the United States. Clearly, being from Africa or of African ancestry is a significant risk factor for aggressive prostate cancer and calls for tailored research efforts into improving clinical outcomes for African ancestral men. Clinical parameters reported to be exasperated in African American men include higher serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels population wide and at prostate cancer diagnosis, younger age at diagnosis, shorter PSA doubling before surgery, higher tumor grade and volume at surgery, higher incidence of anteriorly located tumors (more challenging to obtain a biopsy sample), and faster growing tumors (greater potential for metastasis). Suggested explanations for the observed African-associated prostate cancer health disparity include socioeconomic factors, including environment, and genetics.
In this Research Topic, we will explore prostate cancer health disparities from clinical presentation and outcomes to lifestyle contributions and both inherited and somatic genetic contributions. We welcome Original Research Articles, Review Articles and Systematic Reviews.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Globally, men from the Caribbean have the highest mortality rates, with rates for Sub-Saharan Africa over double those reported for the United States. Clearly, being from Africa or of African ancestry is a significant risk factor for aggressive prostate cancer and calls for tailored research efforts into improving clinical outcomes for African ancestral men. Clinical parameters reported to be exasperated in African American men include higher serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels population wide and at prostate cancer diagnosis, younger age at diagnosis, shorter PSA doubling before surgery, higher tumor grade and volume at surgery, higher incidence of anteriorly located tumors (more challenging to obtain a biopsy sample), and faster growing tumors (greater potential for metastasis). Suggested explanations for the observed African-associated prostate cancer health disparity include socioeconomic factors, including environment, and genetics.
In this Research Topic, we will explore prostate cancer health disparities from clinical presentation and outcomes to lifestyle contributions and both inherited and somatic genetic contributions. We welcome Original Research Articles, Review Articles and Systematic Reviews.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Keywords: prostate cancer, oncology, health disparity, mortality
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
