Grant Number:	5R00CA245900-04 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Kensler, Kevin
Organization:	Weill Medical Coll Of Cornell Univ
Project Title:	Contributions of Tumor Molecular Subtypes to Prostate Cancer Racial Disparities
Fiscal Year:	2022

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT African American men (AAM) disproportionately experience the burden of prostate cancer with a mortality rate approximately 2.4-fold greater than that observed among white men in the U.S. This represents the single largest known cancer disparity by race in the U.S., and it may reflect both biologic heterogeneity in the cancers that arise in AAM, as well as differences in socioeconomic factors that influence healthcare utilization. The relative contribution of sociocontextual and biologic factors to prostate cancer disparities remains unclear. Prostate cancers are phenotypically and molecularly heterogeneous, and a better understanding of tumor subtypes by race may aid in the understanding of disease etiology and disparities. Preliminary evidence suggests that low grade tumors in AAM have a higher propensity for progression. The identification of intrinsic subtypes in other cancers, such as breast cancer, has had profound implications for our understanding of the underlying biology and clinical management of those cancers. I hypothesize that the clinical management of prostate cancer can be further optimized for AAM with further understanding of molecular tumor heterogeneity. I will leverage transcriptomic and clinical data from the Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate Network and GenomeDx Decipher Genomic Resource Information Database™ to investigate molecular tumor subtypes with respect to prostate cancer disparities. To that end, I will: 1) characterize the PAM50 subtypes in prostate cancer by self-identified race/ethnicity and assess their prognostic value; 2) use tumor transcriptomic data to derive, validate, and characterize novel prostate cancer subtypes among AAM; 3) assemble a retrospective cohort of AAM with low-grade prostate cancer to identify molecular predictors of tumor progression. These research aims are supported by a comprehensive training plan tailored to my training goals: 1) developing an applied knowledge of advanced concepts in prostate cancer biology, epidemiology, and disparities, and 2) developing a bioinformatic and computational biology skillset. This research and training plan will provide me with the skill set to establish a career as a leader in molecular prostate cancer epidemiology and disparities research. To help me accomplish these goals, I will receive guidance from a team of experts in molecular prostate cancer research, who will help expand my knowledge of prostate cancer epidemiology, disparities, biology, pathology, clinical management, and methods for tumor molecular profiling. With the support of my mentor, Advisory Panel, and the rich training environment of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, this award will help facilitate my transition to research independence.




Benchmarking multi-ancestry prostate cancer polygenic risk scores in a real-world cohort.
Authors: Shah Y. , Kulm S. , Nauseef J.T. , Chen Z. , Elemento O. , Kensler K.H. , Sharaf R.N. .
Source: Plos Computational Biology, 2024 Apr; 20(4), p. e1011990.
EPub date: 2024-04-10 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 38598551
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Prostate-specific antigen testing rates in high-risk populations: results from the All of Us Research Program.
Authors: Morley F. , Iyer H.S. , Tamimi R.M. , Nanus D.M. , Rebbeck T.R. , Kensler K.H. .
Source: Cancer Causes & Control : Ccc, 2023-10-25 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2023-10-25 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 37878135
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Prostate Cancer Screening in African American Men: A Review of the Evidence.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Johnson R. , Morley F. , Albrair M. , Dickerman B.A. , Gulati R. , Holt S.K. , Iyer H.S. , Kibel A.S. , Lee J.R. , et al. .
Source: Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, 2023-09-15 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2023-09-15 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 37713266
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Associations between etiologic or prognostic tumor tissue markers and neighborhood contextual factors in male health professionals diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Authors: Iyer H.S. , Kensler K.H. , Vaselkiv J.B. , Stopsack K.H. , Roscoe C. , Bandera E.V. , Qin B. , Jang T.L. , Lotan T.L. , James P. , et al. .
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2023-05-26 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2023-05-26 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 37249585
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The tumor mutational landscape of BRCA2-deficient primary and metastatic prostate cancer.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Baichoo S. , Pathania S. , Rebbeck T.R. .
Source: Npj Precision Oncology, 2022-06-17 00:00:00.0; 6(1), p. 39.
EPub date: 2022-06-17 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 35715489
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Variation in Molecularly Defined Prostate Tumor Subtypes by Self-identified Race.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Awasthi S. , Alshalalfa M. , Trock B.J. , Freedland S.J. , Freeman M.R. , You S. , Mahal B.A. , Den R.B. , Dicker A.P. , et al. .
Source: European Urology Open Science, 2022 Jun; 40, p. 19-26.
EPub date: 2022-04-26 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 35638091
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Racial/ethnic variation in PSA testing and prostate cancer incidence following the 2012 U.S.P.S.T.F. recommendation.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Pernar C.H. , Mahal B.A. , Nguyen P.L. , Trinh Q.D. , Kibel A.S. , Rebbeck T.R. .
Source: Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, 2020-11-04 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2020-11-04 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 33146392
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Automated Quantitative Measures of Terminal Duct Lobular Unit Involution and Breast Cancer Risk.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Liu E.Z.F. , Wetstein S.C. , Onken A.M. , Luffman C.I. , Baker G.M. , Collins L.C. , Schnitt S.J. , Bret-Mounet V.C. , Veta M. , et al. .
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2020-09-11 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2020-09-11 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32917665
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Pre-diagnostic 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in relation to tumor molecular alterations and risk of breast cancer recurrence.
Authors: Peng C. , Heng Y.J. , Lu D. , DuPre N.C. , Kensler K.H. , Glass K. , Zeleznik O.A. , Kraft P. , Feldman D. , Hankinson S.E. , et al. .
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2020-04-01 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2020-04-01 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32238406
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Cancer Progress and Priorities: Prostate Cancer.
Authors: Kensler K.H. , Rebbeck T.R. .
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2020 Feb; 29(2), p. 267-277.
PMID: 32024765
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Integrative comparison of the genomic and transcriptomic landscape between prostate cancer patients of predominantly African or European genetic ancestry.
Authors: Yuan J. , Kensler K.H. , Hu Z. , Zhang Y. , Zhang T. , Jiang J. , Xu M. , Pan Y. , Long M. , Montone K.T. , et al. .
Source: Plos Genetics, 2020 02; 16(2), p. e1008641.
EPub date: 2020-02-14 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32059012
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Deep learning assessment of breast terminal duct lobular unit involution: Towards automated prediction of breast cancer risk.
Authors: Wetstein S.C. , Onken A.M. , Luffman C. , Baker G.M. , Pyle M.E. , Kensler K.H. , Liu Y. , Bakker B. , Vlutters R. , van Leeuwen M.B. , et al. .
Source: Plos One, 2020; 15(4), p. e0231653.
EPub date: 2020-04-15 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 32294107
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Discovering novel driver mutations from pan-cancer analysis of mutational and gene expression profiles.
Authors: Tegally H. , Kensler K.H. , Mungloo-Dilmohamud Z. , Ghoorah A.W. , Rebbeck T.R. , Baichoo S. .
Source: Plos One, 2020; 15(11), p. e0242780.
EPub date: 2020-11-24 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 33232371
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