Abstract A045: Investigating the biological determinants of poor mental health among ethnically diverse Black prostate cancer survivors: An iCCaRE consortium for prostate cancer in Black men project
Authors: Rotimi Solomon O. , Odedina Folakemi , Dronca Roxana , Ashing Kimlin , Kaninjing Ernest , Ngufor Che , Merriweather Arnold , Crook Jennifer , Salinas Manisha , Parisa Fathi , Rashad Sha’Reff , McCall John , Erefah Ebenezer , Yahaya Ayinde 
Published: January 2023

Background: Black men across the world continue to bear the burden of prostate cancer (PCa). Although several factors account for this, studies have demonstrated that the adaptive constitutive biological factors associated with African ancestry contribute to the risk of disease development, disease aggression, and poor disease outcomes in Black men. However, the limited inclusion of Blacks in cancer biology studies limits the understanding of the extent to which biology influence outcomes among Blacks. Furthermore, beyond White-Black dichotomous disparity, there exists an under-exploited within-group geographical and ancestral disparities in the burden, clinical presentation, and outcomes of PCa among Black men globally. Aside from urological and sexual problems, Black PCa survivors experience poor mental health, with a concomitant reduction in the quality of life and overall survival. Hence, improving the overall well-being of PCa survivors requires an understanding of the biological determinants of mental health among diverse groups of Black PCa survivors. Methods: Structured questionnaires are being used to access fatigue, pain, depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life, and PCa-specific symptoms burden among within a cohort of ethnically diverse Black PCa survivors in Africa. This is linked with the salivary biomarkers of inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, and tryptophan-kynurenine pathway in our studies population. Results: Data from fifty PCa survivors across different African ethnic groups (including, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa) will be presented. This study will measure biological variables (e.g, inflammatory markers, cortisol, tryptophan, kynurenine, and serotonin) and survivors self-reported (e.g. health-related quality of life and psychoneurological symptoms) measures to better examine the interconnectedness between cancer-associated biomarkers and poor mental health. Conclusion: This study will lay an essential foundation for understanding the extent to which cancer associated-biological determinants contribute to the poor mental health of PCa survivors, unravels the within-group disparities in the mental health of Black PCa survivors, establish the contribution of genetics to poor mental health in Black PCa survivors and provide the opportunity for pharmacogenomic intervention that will improve the quality of life.

Citation Format: Solomon O. Rotimi, Folakemi Odedina, Roxana Dronca, Kimlin Ashing, Ernest Kaninjing, Che Ngufor, Arnold Merriweather, Jennifer Crook, Manisha Salinas, Fathi Parisa, Sha’Reff Rashad, John McCall, Ebenezer Erefah, Ayinde Yahaya. Investigating the biological determinants of poor mental health among ethnically diverse Black prostate cancer survivors: An iCCaRE consortium for prostate cancer in Black men project [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A045.