# Identifying factors associated with prostate cancer progression and survival in African American men: The RESPOND Cohort

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2024 · $1,620,203

## Abstract

African American (AA) men have a >80% higher incidence and are more than twice as likely to die from prostate
cancer (PCa) than white men. The reasons for the high burden relating to poor outcomes of PCa among AA men
are largely unknown. RESPOND is a nation-wide and comprehensive effort to understand PCa health disparities,
with research focused on the role of stress and the contextual environment, access to care and treatment,
inherited susceptibility, tumor somatic genetics, the inflammatory tumor microenvironment, as well as the
integration of these factors in the diagnosis of aggressive disease. AA men, diagnosed with PCa between 2015
and 2020, have been sampled and recruited from cancer registries in 7 states (California, Georgia, Louisiana,
Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan area), New Jersey, Texas, and New York). By December of 2023, the cohort will
include >12,700 AA men with PCa who completed a baseline survey, >7,600 who provided saliva/germline DNA
and tumor samples obtained for >3,400. Over the next 5 years, we will leverage the RESPOND recruitment
infrastructure and research expertise to update comorbidities, lifestyle behaviors, experience of stress, access
to care, and neighborhood environmental data, as well as to obtain information on PCa oncologic outcomes
including disease progression/recurrence (P/R) and mortality. Long-term follow-up of this cohort is essential
since the development of progressive disease may take several years after diagnosis. These data will be used
to address a number of scientific questions and hypotheses aimed at understanding key social and biological
factors and their inter-relationships that contribute to disease P/R and survival in this high-risk population. In Aim
1, we will examine multi-level provider, geospatial and personal factors that define access to care and their
relationship to PCa, P/R and survival as well as patient-reported outcomes. In Aim 2, we will investigate
residence in persistently disinvested neighborhoods and modification by chronic exposure to life-course
structural and social stressors on PCa aggressiveness, P/R and survival. In Aim 3, we will evaluate the impact
of lifestyle factors, comorbid conditions and genetic risk factors on PCa P/R and mortality. Lastly, in Aim 4, we
will leverage deep learning approaches applied to histopathologic images to improve prediction of PCa P/R and
survival in AA men. Each aim addresses a distinct research domain (access to care, social environment/stress,
lifestyle and genetic factors and tumor features), yet, when studied together in a single cohort, scientific synergy
is gained and a far more comprehensive picture of the major factors that contribute to PCa P/R and PCa survival
in AA men. We expect these findings to have broad reaching significance and address numerous challenges in
the clinical management and prevention of P/R in AA men, and ultimately improve health outcomes.
Furthermore, we expect RESPOND to become an invaluable resource ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10895911
- **Project number:** 1U01CA287036-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Alan Haiman
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,620,203
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-23 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10895911

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10895911, Identifying factors associated with prostate cancer progression and survival in African American men: The RESPOND Cohort (1U01CA287036-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10895911. Licensed CC0.

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