Protein Linked to Prostate Cancer Spread is Higher in African-Americans

A protein linked to the spread of prostate cancer might explain why African-American men often have a more aggressive form of the disease.

"Our findings show there is a twofold difference in the caveolin-1 found in African-American men with prostate cancer," said Dr. Timothy Thompson, a professor of urology, radiology and cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine. "This protein is specifically associated with aggressive disease."

African-American men are twice as likely to have prostate cancer and to die from it, compared to white men.

The finding on caveolin-1 expression in African-American men appears in the September issue of Clinical Cancer Research. It is the most recent result in ongoing studies of caveolin-1 conducted by Dr. Thompson and his team of researchers. In earlier studies, they found a link between caveolin-1 and the spread of prostate cancer to other areas of the body.

"All kinds of issues have been studied on why African-American men have a more aggressive form of prostate cancer," Dr. Thompson said. "This is the first study that's shown a significant biomarker difference."

In the study, prostate cancer samples from equal numbers of African-American and white men were studied for a number of biomarkers associated with prostate cancer.

"Only caveolin-1 showed a remarkable difference," he said.

When prostate cancer is confined to the prostate, survival chances are excellent after treatment. The prognosis is much worse when the cancer spreads to other areas of the body.

Dr. Thompson said this research could lead to the development of a non-invasive procedure, like a blood test, to determine the levels of caveolin-1, which could predict the likelihood the cancer would spread.

"It could be a very, very good screening tool for the African-American population, and maybe all men," Dr. Thompson said.

He said the research could also lead to the development of a drug that counteracts the protein.

"This marker puts us at a whole new level of understanding the disease, " Dr. Thompson said.

The Baylor Department of Urology research is funded through a Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant from the National Cancer Institute.

By LORI WILLIAMS

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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