# Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Prostate Cancer: Opportunities for Prevention and Early Detection > **NIH NIH K01** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $184,912 ## Abstract PROJECT SUMMARY Prostate cancer (CaP) is the leading non-cutaneous cancer in men, accounting for roughly 1 in 5 new cases and 1 in 10 deaths from cancer per year. Few modifiable risk factors have been identified for CaP, limiting opportunities for primary prevention. In the US, Black men experience over twice the rate of mortality from CaP compared to White men, disparities that are partly explained by differences in neighborhood environmental context. Black men are often exposed to higher burden of environmental pollutants due to segregation and neighborhood disinvestment, which may contribute to disparities. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic industrial chemicals of public health concern due to their ubiquitous presence and persistence in the body and environment, as well as growing evidence of their adverse health impacts. Certain PFAS have been classified as Group 2B (“possible”) carcinogens by the Institute of Agency for Cancer. Some studies in populations with high occupational or community exposures to PFAS have shown elevated risk of CaP, but few studies have examined these associations in large racially-diverse, population-based studies. I propose to study three commonly measured PFAS (PFOA, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) as potential risk factors for aggressive CaP and CaP disparities in New Jersey. I will develop a spatiotemporal model of drinking water PFAS exposure using multiple geographic datasets capturing business, hydrology, meteorologic, and census variables. Modeled PFAS exposure will be linked to masked residential address histories collected from men diagnosed with CaP in the New Jersey State Cancer Registry to estimate the risk of advanced CaP associated with increasing levels of PFAS. I will then conduct a pilot study among patients seeking CaP treatment at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. I will evaluate differences in PFAS souces by different sociodemographic groups, and study associations between serum PFAS and risk of biochemical reccurrence among men treated for CaP. This research will be complemented by a training program to develop knowledge and skills in health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, spatiotemporal modeling of environmental chemicals, primary data collection and biospecimen collection, and molecular alterations involved in prostate carcinogenesis. I have invited a multidisciplinary team of environmental and cancer researchers to support my training. My short-term goals are to develop expertise in pathways through which PFAS and related endocrine-disrupting chemicals influence CaP, and disseminate findings through conference presentations and publications. My long-term goal is to become an independent scientist and expert in multilevel environmental and biological pathways that influence CaP progression and outcomes. Preliminary data generated through this project will support the development of an R01 proposal to clarify mecha... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10783263 - **Project number:** 1K01ES035734-01 - **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES - **Principal Investigator:** Hari S Iyer - **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $184,912 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2024-03-01 → 2027-02-28 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10783263 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10783263, Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Prostate Cancer: Opportunities for Prevention and Early Detection (1K01ES035734-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10783263. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*