NCI-Maryland Prostate Cancer Case-Control Study

The study seeks to examine the genetic and ancestral basis of prostate cancer-associated inflammation
using a genome-wide association approach. The study population are the participants of the NCI Maryland
Prostate Cancer Case-Control study. This study recruited both African American and European
American men, and investigated the causes for the excessive burden of prostate
cancer among African American men in more general terms. We measured 82 blood-based immune-oncology markers, and
genotyped the participants using the HumanOmni5-Quad BeadChip, which provides a significant genome
coverage for genetically-admixed and diverse populations, to evaluate the genetic basis and evidence for
causality of any immune-inflammation marker that is associated with prostate cancer risk. We want to
assess how germline genetics influence the abundance levels of these 82 markers in African
American and European American men, which may contribute to differences between them.]]>
Inclusion Criteria:Case subject diagnosed with prostate cancer within two years prior to
enrollmentresided in Maryland or adjacent counties in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, or District of
Columbia40 to 90 years old at the time of enrollmentborn in the United Statesself-reported African-American or European-American mancan be interviewed in Englishhad a working home phone
numberphysically and mentally fit to be interviewed, not severely ill not resided in an institution, such as prison, nursing home, or shelter. Control subjects were identified through the Maryland Department of
Motor Vehicle Administration database, and were frequency-matched to cases on age and race. The control subjects also had the same eligibility criteria as cases with the exception that they could not have a personal history of cancer (other than non-melanoma skin cancer), radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.]]>
This case-control study was initiated to test the primary hypothesis that ancestry-related factors and
environmental exposures, including infections and medical history, modify prostate cancer
susceptibility and contribute to the excessive disease risk among African-American men. The study was
implemented in 2005 after approval by the National Cancer Institute (protocol # 05-C-N021) and the
University of Maryland (protocol #0298229) Institutional Review Boards. Recruitment was ended in 2015.
Case subjects were recruited at two hospitals, the Baltimore VA Medical Center and the University of Maryland
Medical Center, and were diagnosed to have a prostate cancer within the last two years prior to
recruitment. Of the 976 cases that were recruited into the study, 489 were African-Americans and 487
were European-Americans. Of those, 823 patients were defined as incident cases (422 African-Americans and 401 European-Americans) because they were recruited into the study within one year after
the disease diagnosis. A total of 1,034 controls (486 African-Americans and 548 European-Americans) were recruited.]]>