Metabolic syndrome is associated with aggressive prostate cancer regardless of race.

Purpose: Recent meta-analyses suggest the Metabolic Syndrome (MS) increases high-grade prostate cancer (PC), although studies are inconsistent and few black men were included. We investigated MS and PC diagnosis in black and white men undergoing prostate biopsy in an equal access healthcare system. We hypothesized MS would be linked with aggressive PC, regardless of race.

Racial disparities in liver cancer: Evidence for a role of environmental contaminants and the epigenome.

Liver cancer incidence has tripled since the early 1980s, making this disease one of the fastest rising types of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the US, incidence varies by geographic location and race, with the highest incidence in the southwestern and southeastern states and among racial minorities such as Hispanic and Black individuals. Prognosis is also poorer among these populations.

Expression of UDP Glucuronosyltransferases and is associated with methylation status in prostate cancer cells.

Studies have suggested that abrogated expression of detoxification enzymes, UGT2B15 and UGT2B17, are associated with prostate tumour risk and progression. We investigated the role of EGF on the expression of these enzymes since it interacts with signalling pathways to also affect prostate tumour progression and is additionally associated with decreased DNA methylation. The expression of , methyltransferases, and was assessed in prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) treated with EGF, an EGFR inhibitor PD16893, and the methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-azacytidine, respectively.

Evaluation of vitamin D biosynthesis and pathway target genes reveals UGT2A1/2 and EGFR polymorphisms associated with epithelial ovarian cancer in African American Women.

An association between genetic variants in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was previously reported in women of African ancestry (AA). We sought to examine associations between genetic variants in VDR and additional genes from vitamin D biosynthesis and pathway targets (EGFR, UGT1A, UGT2A1/2, UGT2B, CYP3A4/5, CYP2R1, CYP27B1, CYP24A1, CYP11A1, and GC). Genotyping was performed using the custom-designed 533,631 SNP Illumina OncoArray with imputation to the 1,000 Genomes Phase 3 v5 reference set in 755 EOC cases, including 537 high-grade serous (HGSOC), and 1,235 controls.

Interplay between exercise and BMI; results from an equal access, racially diverse biopsy study.

Purpose: It is unclear if exercise and BMI interact to influence prostate cancer (PC) risk. We hypothesized BMI is linked with increased aggressive PC risk but this link will be attenuated with increased exercise.

Methods: Men undergoing prostate biopsy completed a questionnaire and metabolic equivalent (MET) hours of exercise was calculated.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer progression.

Background: Uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 2B (UGT2B) genes code for enzymes that catalyze the clearance of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and DHT metabolites in the prostate basal and luminal tissue. The expression of the UGT2B15, UGT2B17, and UGT2B28 enzymes has not been evaluated in prostate tissue samples from hormone therapy-naïve patients.

Methods: We determined the expression of UGT2B15, UGT2B17, and UGT2B28 enzymes in 190 prostate tissue samples from surgical specimens of a multiethnic cohort of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Is Body Mass Index the Best Adiposity Measure for Prostate Cancer Risk? Results From a Veterans Affairs Biopsy Cohort.

Objective: To test multiple adiposity measures and prostate cancer (PC) risk in men undergoing prostate biopsy. We hypothesized that body mass index (BMI), body fat, and waist circumference would be highly correlated, and all would be associated with aggressive PC, but not overall risk.

Subjects And Methods: A case (483)-control (496) study among men undergoing prostate biopsy from 2007 to 2016 was conducted at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The association between sexual function and prostate cancer risk in US veterans.

Sexual dysfunction and prostate cancer are common among older men. Few studies explored the association between these two illnesses. We examined whether sexual function is associated with prostate cancer risk among older men.

Xenobiotic Metabolism in Mice Lacking the UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 2 Family.

UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) conjugate a glucuronyl group from glucuronic acid to a wide range of lipophilic substrates to form a hydrophilic glucuronide conjugate. The glucuronide generally has decreased bioactivity and increased water solubility to facilitate excretion. Glucuronidation represents an important detoxification pathway for both endogenous waste products and xenobiotics, including drugs and harmful industrial chemicals.

Carbohydrate intake, glycemic index and prostate cancer risk.

Background: Reported associations between dietary carbohydrate and prostate cancer (PC) risk are poorly characterized by race.

Methods: We analyzed the association between carbohydrate intake, glycemic index (GI), and PC risk in a study of white (N = 262) and black (N = 168) veterans at the Durham VA Hospital. Cases were 156 men with biopsy-confirmed PC and controls (N = 274) had a PSA test but were not recommended for biopsy.

Harnessing mobile genetic elements to explore gene regulation.

Sequences that regulate expression of a gene in but are located at large distances along the DNA from the gene, as found with most developmentally regulated genes in higher vertebrates, are difficult to identify if those sequences are not conserved across species. Mutating suspected gene-regulatory sequences to alter expression then becomes a hit-or-miss affair. The relaxed specificity of transposon insertions offers an opportunity to develop alternate strategies, to scan in an unbiased manner, pieces of chromosomal DNA cloned in BACs for transcription enhancing elements.

The association between race and prostate cancer risk on initial biopsy in an equal access, multiethnic cohort.

Purpose: Population-based studies have established a link between race and prostate cancer (PC) risk, but whether race predicts PC after adjusting for clinical characteristics is unclear. We investigated the association between race and risk of low- and high-grade PC in men undergoing initial prostate biopsy in an equal access medical center.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective record review of 887 men (48.

Novel associations of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B gene variants with prostate cancer risk in a multiethnic study.

Background: We have previously shown that a functional polymorphism of the UGT2B15 gene (rs1902023) was associated with increased risk of prostate cancer (PC). Novel functional polymorphisms of the UGT2B17 and UGT2B15 genes have been recently characterized by in vitro assays but have not been evaluated in epidemiologic studies.

Methods: Fifteen functional SNPs of the UGT2B17 and UGT2B15 genes, including cis-acting UGT2B gene SNPs, were genotyped in African American and Caucasian men (233 PC cases and 342 controls).

Androgenetic alopecia at various ages and prostate cancer risk in an equal-access multiethnic case-control series of veterans.

Purpose: Epidemiological data are conflicting regarding the association between androgenetic alopecia (AA) and prostate cancer (CaP). We examined the relationship between these two conditions.

Materials And Methods: We performed a case-control study at a Veterans Affairs Hospital among 708 men: 312 healthy controls, 167 men with CaP, and 229 men without CaP on prostate biopsy.

Association between exercise and primary incidence of prostate cancer: does race matter?

Background: Exercise is a modifiable lifestyle risk factor associated with prostate cancer risk reduction. However, whether this association is different as a function of race is unclear. In the current study, the authors attempted to characterize the link between exercise and prostate cancer (CaP) in white and black American men.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms and risk of ovarian cancer in Caucasian and African American women.

Objective: Polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been shown in some studies to be associated with the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in Caucasian women. There are no published reports among African Americans.

Methods: Case-control data from the North Carolina Ovarian Cancer Study were analyzed using logistic regression to determine the association between seven VDR polymorphisms and EOC in both Caucasians (513 cases, 532 controls) and African Americans (74 cases, 79 controls).

Association of uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 2B gene variants with serum glucuronide levels and prostate cancer risk.

Aims: Uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 2B (UGT2B) enzymes conjugate testosterone metabolites to enable their excretion in humans. The functional significance of the UGT2B genetic variants has never been described in humans. We evaluated UGT2B variants in relation to plasma androstane-3α,17β-diol-glucuronide (AAG) levels and the prostate cancer risk.

Associations between Intake of Folate, Methionine, and Vitamins B-12, B-6 and Prostate Cancer Risk in American Veterans.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Recent reports suggest that excess of nutrients involved in the one-carbon metabolism pathway increases PC risk; however, empirical data are lacking. Veteran American men (272 controls and 144 PC cases) who attended the Durham Veteran American Medical Center between 2004-2009 were enrolled into a case-control study.

Dietary calcium and risk for prostate cancer: a case-control study among US veterans.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the association between calcium intake and prostate cancer risk. We hypothesized that calcium intake would be positively associated with lower risk for prostate cancer.

Methods: We used data from a case-control study conducted among veterans between 2007 and 2010 at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The association of diabetes mellitus and high-grade prostate cancer in a multiethnic biopsy series.

Objective: To analyze the association of diabetes mellitus (DM) with risk of prostate cancer and cancer grade among men undergoing prostate biopsy and to analyze how obesity and race modify these associations.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of 998 men from the Durham VA undergoing first prostate biopsy between 2001 and 2009 with complete data available. History of DM was determined by chart review.

A high ratio of dietary n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.

Experimental studies suggest omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) suppress and n-6 PUFA promote prostate tumor carcinogenesis. Epidemiologic evidence remains inconclusive. The objectives of this study were to examine the association between n-3 and n-6 PUFA and prostate cancer risk and determine if these associations differ by race or disease aggressiveness.

Primary peritoneal and ovarian cancers: an epidemiological comparative analysis.

We performed case-control analyses using data from the North Carolina Ovarian Cancer Study to determine risk factors that distinguish primary peritoneal cancer (PPC) from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Our risk factor analyses were restricted to invasive serous cancers including 495 EOC cases, 62 PPC cases and 1,086 control women. Logistic regression analyses were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for risk factor associations.

Theater as a tool to educate African Americans about breast cancer.

Background: The current study examines the effectiveness of theater in educating African American women about breast cancer.

Methods: Four hundred and forty-eight participants viewed a play entitled Stealing Clouds. Employing a retrospective/pre-post test design and paired sample t tests, researchers assessed the effectiveness of theater in increasing participants' knowledge about breast cancer and likelihood of participating in efforts to address and reduce breast cancer disparities.

Exercise and prostate cancer risk in a cohort of veterans undergoing prostate needle biopsy.

Purpose: Epidemiological and molecular evidence suggest potential associations between exercise and prostate cancer risk reduction. We further characterized this relationship by examining exercise and cancer risk among men undergoing prostate needle biopsy.

Materials And Methods: A total of 190 men who underwent prostate biopsy at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center completed a questionnaire on current exercise behavior.

Differential activation and regulation of CXCR1 and CXCR2 by CXCL8 monomer and dimer.

CXCL8 (also known as IL-8) activates CXCR1 and CXCR2 to mediate neutrophil recruitment and trigger cytotoxic effect at sites of infection. Under physiological conditions, CXCL8 could exist as monomers, dimers, or a mixture of monomers and dimers. Therefore, both forms of CXCL8 could interact with CXCR1 and CXCR2 with different affinities and potencies to mediate different cellular responses.