# Elevated homocysteine in African American Prostate Cancer: Association with Diet and Dietary practices, evaluating its biomarker potential, and characterizing its tumor promoting function

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $464,326

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Our research plan's long-term objective is to reduce the disproportionate effects of prostate cancer on African
American men. In our published and yet to be published studies, we have found that increased levels of a
metabolite homocysteine were significantly associated with men with higher West African ancestry who have
elevated levels of the clinical prostate cancer marker prostate-specific antigen and who have been diagnosed
with prostate cancer. Our work further reveals significantly reduced levels of vitamin B6 and unique dietary
practices in African American men who are at high risk of developing prostate cancer. Also, we show a possible
role for elevated homocysteine in promoting metastasis (or spread) of the prostate tumors to the bone, which is
predominantly seen in African American patients.
Based on these findings, in this application, we propose determining the association between different dietary
practices and elevated levels of homocysteine and the likelihood of having prostate cancer in African American
men. In addition, we propose to determine the biological role of elevated homocysteine in promoting the growth
and development of African American prostate cancer. We will also evaluate the ability of combined levels of
three metabolites: homocysteine, methionine, and vitamin B6, in plasma, to detect prostate cancer early in
African American men.
This study's impact relies on understanding the role of diet and dietary patterns in contributing to prostate cancer
risk and the potential to develop healthy lifestyle interventions (e.g., dietary modification, vitamin B6
supplementation, etc.) to mitigate the risk of developing PCa in AA men. In the longer term, homocysteine and
vitamin B6 could be set as markers to screen AA men at higher risk of developing PCa.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10350432
- **Project number:** 1R01CA267090-01
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Luis Rustveld
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $464,326
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10350432

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10350432, Elevated homocysteine in African American Prostate Cancer: Association with Diet and Dietary practices, evaluating its biomarker potential, and characterizing its tumor promoting function (1R01CA267090-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10350432. Licensed CC0.

---

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