Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.It's estimated that about 10 percent of all prostate cancers have a hereditary link. But relatively little is known about the role heredity plays in the incidence of prostate cancer among blacks.
To study that link, Creighton University's Hereditary Cancer Center has received a three-year, $731,278 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
"African-American men have two times the occurrence of prostate cancer as do Caucasian men and suffer a significantly higher mortality as well," said Dr. Henry Lynch, principal investigator and the director of the Creighton center.
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, Lynch said.
Jackson State University in Mississippi is collaborating in the study. The goal is to involve 300 African-American prostate cancer patients from the Omaha area and about 500 from Jackson, Miss.
If you are a black man who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and are interested in participating in the study, contact Carrie Snyder at 402-280-2634 or email csnyder@creighton.edu and include "prostate cancer study" in the subject line.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
