Association of neighborhood gentrification with prostate cancer and immune markers in African American and European American men

Abstract

BackgroundPrior studies showed that neighborhood deprivation increases the risk of lethal prostate cancer. However, the role of neighborhood gentrification in prostate cancer development and outcome remains poorly understood. We examined the relationships of gentrification with prostate cancer and serum proteome‐defined inflammation and immune function in a diverse cohort.MethodsThe case–control study included 769 cases [405 African American (AA), 364 European American (EA) men] and 1023 controls (479 AA and 544 EA), with 219 all‐cause and 59 prostate cancer‐specific deaths among cases. Geocodes were linked to a neighborhood gentrification index (NGI) derived from US Census data. Cox and logistic regression, and MANOVA, were used to determine associations between NGI, as continuous or quintiles (Q), and outcomes.ResultsAdjusting for individual socioeconomic status (SES), continuous NGI was positively associated with prostate cancer among all men (odds ratio [OR] 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.14). AA and low‐income men experienced the highest odds of prostate cancer when residing in tracts with moderate gentrification, whereas EA men experienced reduced odds of regional/metastatic cancer with increased gentrification in SES‐adjusted analyses. Continuous NGI also associated with mortality among men presenting with localized disease and low‐income men in SES‐adjusted Cox regression analyses. NGI was not associated with serum proteome‐defined chemotaxis, inflammation, and tumor immunity suppression.ConclusionsFindings show that neighborhood gentrification associates with prostate cancer and mortality in this diverse population albeit associations were heterogenous within subgroups. The observations suggest that changing neighborhood socioeconomic environments may affect prostate cancer risk and outcome, likely through multifactorial mechanisms.

Dysregulation of lncRNA MALAT1 Contributes to Lung Cancer in African Americans by Modulating the Tumor Immune Microenvironment

“…Notably, the integration of lncRNA profiles with smoking history resulted in high diagnostic accuracy (89%) among AA patients. To date, five studies, including ours, have been published exploring the use of plasma lncRNAs as biomarkers for early lung cancer detection [27][28][29][30][31]. While previous research has underscored the potential of lncRNAs as biomarkers for lung cancer in general populations, the biomarkers developed in this study not only show comparable diagnostic efficacy but also enhance early detection of lung cancer in AAs, who face the highest incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer.…”