Choice of consent model matters when engaging diverse populations in biobank research. Beliefs underlying concerns about privacy and genetic protections should be considered when constructing biobank protocols.

Objectives It is unclear if provider recommendations regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening modalities affect patient compliance. We evaluated provider-patient communications about CRC screening with and without a specific screening modality recommendation on patient compliance with screening guidelines. Methods We used the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and identified 4,283 respondents who were at least 50 years of age and answered questions about their communication with their care providers and CRC screening uptake. We defined being compliant with CRC screening as the use of fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) within 1 year, sigmoidoscopy within 5 years, or colonoscopy within 10 years. We used survey weights in all analyses. Results CRC screening discussions occurred with 3,320 (76.2%) respondents. Approximately 95% of these discussions were with physicians. Overall, 2,793 (62.6%) respondents were current with CRC screening regardless of the screening modality. Discussion about screening (Odds Ratio (OR)=8.83; 95%CI: 7.20–10.84) and providers making a specific recommendation about screening modality rather than leaving it to the patient to decide (OR=2.04; 95%CI: 1.54–2.68) were associated with patient compliance with CRC screening guidelines. Conclusion Compliance with CRC screening guidelines is improved when providers discuss options and make specific screening test recommendations.

BACKGROUND p53 is a transcription factor that regulates the cell cycle, DNA repair, and apoptosis. A variant at codon 72, rs1042522, results in altered activities for p53 and is, notably, differentially distributed among different ethnic populations. However, associations of this variant with cancer in men of African descent have not been explored. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that rs1042522 was associated with prostate cancer (PCa) risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP methods in a study population of African descent consisting of 266 PCa patients and 196 male controls. RESULTS Our results indicate that the p53 polymorphism may be associated with increased risk of PCa. Genotypes were significantly and marginally associated with PCa risk using the dominant and log-additive genetic models (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.02–2.29, P = 0.04; OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 0.99–1.78, P = 0.06, respectively). After adjusting for age, the associations with PCa remained, but results were not statistically significant (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 0.95–2.31, P = 0.08; OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 0.95–1.80, P = 0.10, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrates that population-dependent differences in allele frequencies associated with health disparities provide a valuable framework for the interrogation of complex diseases in all populations.