# Project 3: Integrative and Functional Genomics of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in African American Men

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2021 · $735,449

## Abstract

Abstract – Project 3
It has long been known that African American men experience a higher incidence and increased mortality from
prostate cancer compared to men of other ethnic groups. Socio-economic factors and unequal access to health
care undoubtedly contribute to this disparity; however, differences in incidence and outcome remain after
considering these factors. This raises the possibility that differences in tumor biology and/or genetic alterations
also contribute to the adverse outcomes linked to African American prostate cancer. The over-arching goal of
this Project is to comprehensively interrogate the mutational landscape and oncogenic gene expression patterns
present in primary African American prostate cancer. Towards this end, we will characterize ~3,000 tumor
samples from the RESPOND cohort using whole-exome sequencing and targeted sequencing. Approximately
1,000 of these tumors will also undergo transcriptome analysis. This data will be used to study the relationship
between prostate cancer genetics and tumor aggressiveness, and will be compared to cohorts of men of
European descent to determine whether any genetic or transcriptional alterations show differential prevalence
as a function of ancestry. In addition, we will use in vitro studies of primary prostate epithelial cells to test whether
common prostate cancer alterations exert more robust tumorigenic effects when introduced into non-malignant
prostate cells from African American men compared to prostate epithelial cells from white men. This project
should enable definitive insights into the somatic genetic alterations characteristic of African American prostate
cancer and the role(s) they might play in driving aggressive disease and adverse outcomes within this and
potentially other ancestral groups.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10249995
- **Project number:** 5U19CA214253-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN D. CARPTEN
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $735,449
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-05 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10249995

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10249995, Project 3: Integrative and Functional Genomics of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in African American Men (5U19CA214253-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10249995. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*