161570 Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness, Race and Pesticides in North Carolina: The PCaP Geographic Information Study (PCaP-GIS)

Monday, November 5, 2007

Claire Lutgendorf, BA , Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Carrboro, NC
Jane C. Schroeder, DVM, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Michael E. Emch, PhD , Carolina Population Center and Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Amy H. Herring, ScD , Department of Biostatistics, Carolina Population Center, Unversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Neal Simonsen, PhD , Epidemiology, LSU School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA
L. Joseph Su, PhD, MPH , School of Public Health, Lousiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Jeannette T. Bensen, MS, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Merle H. Mishel, PhD, RN, FAAN , School of Nursing, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Elizabeth T.H. Fontham, DrPH, MPH , Dean, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Anastasia Ivanova, PhD, MS , Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Paul A. Godley, MD, PhD , Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Gary J. Smith, PhD , Department of Urologic Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
James L. Mohler, MD , Department of Urologic Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
African Americans (AA) are at greater risk of dying of prostate cancer than Caucasian Americans (CA), in part because of racial differences in tumor characteristics that may reflect differences in etiologic mechanisms. Prior studies suggest that pesticide exposures may increase the risk or severity of prostate cancer, and it has been hypothesized that AA may be more highly exposed or susceptible to pesticide-mediated carcinogenesis than CA. The PCaP Geographic Information Study (PCaP-GIS) population will include 450 AA and 450 CA North Carolina prostate cancer patients enrolled in the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP), a population-based study of racial disparities in prostate cancer aggressiveness. Community-level markers of pesticide exposures and healthcare availability will be derived using spatial statistics, and will be analyzed in combination with PCaP in-person interview data concerning race, farming, pesticide-associated occupations and healthcare access to estimate race-specific associations between pesticides and prostate cancer aggressiveness. PCaP-GIS will also include a multi-level analysis of the association between environmental pesticide exposures, farming and prostate cancer aggressiveness in AA and CA using hierarchical models adjusted for community- and individual-level markers of healthcare access and availability. PCaP-GIS provides a unique opportunity to evaluate environmental factors that may contribute to racial differences in prostate cancer severity among North Carolina men.

Learning Objectives:
Individuals viewing this poster will be better able to understand: How geographic information systems can be used to examine relationships in health data. How environmental factors, such as pesticide applications affect prostate cancer severity among men in North Carolina.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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