Black Health Risks Traced
Separate teams of gene hunters have homed in on key regions in the human genome to explain the higher-than-usual incidence of prostate cancer in black men and the elevated risk of premature birth among black women.
The discoveries, being reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, add context to two medical mysteries that have long proved difficult to explain.
Gene-tracking scientists at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have focused on a chromosome abuzz with genetic activity, which they expect will yield a flawed segment of DNA responsible for the high rate of prostate cancer in black men.
Statistics have long shown that blacks are 50% more likely than whites to develop prostate cancer and have twice the risk of dying from the disease.
The cancer also strikes black men earlier in life and generally proceeds along a more aggressive course.
Lead researcher Dr. Matthew Freedman said the variant DNA lies deep within a group of genes arrayed along chromosome 8. Although Freedman and his team know the flaw exists, they have yet to pinpoint its location.
“We see the smoke, but don’t yet see the fire,” Freedman said Monday in an interview. “I am very excited about this because, among the well-accepted risk factors for prostate cancer, we know that age, family history and ethnicity are strong indicators. Now we appear to have added a fourth.”
Meanwhile, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have found a flawed gene that they say helps explain why black women are more likely to experience ruptured membranes and deliver babies prematurely.
“The reason why black women experience preterm birth at a higher rate had been a mystery,” Dr. Jerome Strauss said. “People had speculated that it was due to low economic status, and there was further speculation that the cause may be genetic. Now we’ve found the gene.”
Strauss said premature births cost $28 billion a year in the United States. Isolating the gene, he said, provides a target for screening women, allowing doctors to pursue preventive measures.
