Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, reflecting a complex relationship among structural, social, health, and biologic factors. Investigators in our group first demonstrated that men with very aggressive prostate cancers were more likely to have inherited genetic mutations in DNA damage repair genes, impacting both screening and treatment of men with inherited prostate cancers. While our group continues to lead in the study of inherited and acquired genetic mutations in lethal prostate cancers, little is known about the effect these biologic, as well as non-biologic, factors have on racial inequities.

The Andy Hill CARE Fund Distinguished Researchers grant supported our work building a community-based infrastructure for involving Black men in prostate cancer research design and implementation. Our collaborative will:

1. convene a patient-driven working group to design a culturally-competent and robust biorepository and longitudinal epidemiologic cohort; and
2. build a Washington State cohort to allow for the identification of structural, social, health, and biologic factors associated with lethal prostate cancer among Black men.

We hypothesize that 

1. involving Black men will facilitate the building of this cohort and
2. that structural and social determinants of health are the primary drivers among Black men.

Identifying key drivers of lethal prostate cancer in Black men has significant implications for screening and treatment recommendations.