Video Transcript: What we are currently looking at is a footage of a cancer cell growing. Next to it is an image of a normal cell and with this we can see the difference in the properties of each cell.
The graph presented represents the racial disparities surrounding prostate cancer. Recent studies have suggested that black men are at much greater risk of getting prostate cancer and dying from it than white men and other racial groups.
One in seven African American men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, and are two point two times to die from prostate cancer than white men. This reduction in the quality of life in African American men has led many scientists to question if there are any underlying factors that might contribute to this disparity. This research was conducted by Dr. Shivanshu Awasthi and colleagues from the Moffit Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and the Dana Farber Institute, and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
The results from the research suggested that there in fact genetic makeup in black men of West African descent, making them more susceptible to prostate cancer than other racial groups. For the experiment, the scientist took a total of 1,173 “radiation-naïve” samples from the Decipher GRID Registry (Awasthi et al. 2021). Radiation Naïve simply means that the samples have not been previously exposed to therapy. The Decipher Genomic Research Information Database (GRID) is a tool that scientists used to capture 1.4 million marker expressions from an individual and can help in how care is taken afterwards to further manage the cancer patient’s care. This is what is known as the Decipher GRID Registry.
The mRNA or messenger RNA is transcribed from the DNA of a cell, and then leave the nucleus and carry out messages for the cell. The mRNA of the tumor cells of both the African American men and European American men were expressed (copied). This is known as transcriptomic expression. The differences in the expression between the African American men and the European American men were observed through a rank test, intergene correlational matrix, and gene set enrichment. Simply put, they looked into the gene makeup of the patients. Afterward, the researchers found that African American men had a genetic marker that makes them more susceptible to prostate cancer than European American men.
This study is very important because one, cancer is a very serious issue. Secondly, it educates the public, especially African Americans of the racial disparities in prostate cancer. It educates them to be more aware of risk factors and hereditary predispositions or genetic predispositions. It also Influences them to further talk to their healthcare providers of the issue. This study has the potential to save lives by making people more aware of the commonality of prostate cancer, especially within African American communities.
References
Awasthi S, Abraham-Miranda J, Berglund A, Davicioni E, Kensler K, Rounbehler RJ, Serna A, Vidal A, You S, Freeman MR, et al. 2021. Comparative genomics reveals distinct immune-oncologic pathways in African American men with prostate cancer. Clinical Cancer Research: An Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. [accessed 2021 Sep 2];27(1):320–329. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.http://https://youtu.be/GFvEoWz5u4Y
Cancer Dance [ video ]. 2011 December 16, 2:16 minutes. YouTube, TIMELAPSE VISION. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyVxTmlAtHo
Depressed senior man wearing pajamas sitting on edge of bed looking unhappy [ video ]. 2019 May 20, 0:20 seconds. Istock Photo, monkeybusinessimages. [accessed 2021 September 22]. https://www.istockphoto.com/video/depressed-senior-man-looking-unhappy-sitting-on-side-of-bed-at-home-gm1149767365-310984044
Free Stock Video of People Talking [ video ]. 2020 August 24, 0:13 seconds. YouTube, Free Stock Vids. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://youtu.be/6j830aLcMLo?t=1
From DNA to protein – 3D [ video ]. 2:41 minutes. YouTube, yourgenome. [accessed 2021 September27]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7uCskUOrA
Harvard Medical School. Dana Farber Cancer Institute [ Image ]. [accessed 2021 September 22]. https://hms.harvard.edu/
Healthy Results. 2017. Schizophrenia can be Hard to Diagnose? [ digital illustration ]. Twitter. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://twitter.com/Healthyresults4/status/835218128401465344
MDedge. 2018. Screening for Prostate Cancer in Black Men [ digital illustration ]. Mdedge. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.mdedge.com/clinicianreviews/article/175856/oncology/screening-prostate-cancer-black-men
Monkeybusinessimages. 2013. Doctor Talking to Senior Couple On Ward Worried [ digital illustration ]. Istock Photo. [accessed 2021 September 18]. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/doctor-talking-to-senior-couple-on-ward-gm177730491-24012635
Scientists At Work In Laboratory [ Video ]. 2013 May 13, 1:01 minutes. YouTube, Educational Videos & Lectures. [accessed 2021 September 23]. https://youtu.be/tao0Aes5bko
Susan Young. 2016. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Powerful ideas for a Healthier World. Harvard. Susan Young Photography. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/
Three Generations Of Black Family Men Laughing Together [ video ]. 2019 April 11, 0:21 seconds. Istockphoto, monkeybusinessimages. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.istockphoto.com/video/three-generations-of-black-family-men-laughing-together-outdoors-close-up-gm1140368182-305135684
Top 40+ Laboratory or Scientist Free Stock 4k Video Footage Download in Pexels and Pixabay 2020 [ video ]. 2020 November 2, 12:22 minutes. YouTube, PexBell. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSm19_DostD-DL6u-UfdbHA
4K DNA Rotating [ video ]. 2020 September 4, 29:59 minutes. YouTube, Cool Motion. [accessed 2021 September 27]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iWfgs7UfJs
Featured Image Source:
Monkeybusinessimages. 2013. Doctor Talking to Senior Couple On Ward Worried [ digital illustration ]. Istock Photo. [accessed 2021 September 18]. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/doctor-talking-to-senior-couple-on-ward-gm177730491-24012635