Does the absence of a protein, known as DARC, increase prostate cancer severity in Black men?

Grant information

Institution – King's College London
Researchers – Dr. Christine Galustian
Grant award - £49,787
Duration of funding – 2014-2016
Status - Complete
Reference – PA13-005

Why did we fund this project?

• Black men are more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer compared to other men of the same age, but we don’t know why.
• The team wanted to see whether Black men have a different version of a protein called DARC to white men, which could be associated with more aggressive prostate cancer.
• The DARC protein helps remove proteins called chemokines, which are growth signals secreted by prostate cancer cells that can help cells grow and move out of the prostate.
• Through measuring the amount and type of DARC protein present in blood samples, it is hoped Black men at high risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer can be identified earlier and treated sooner

Find out more on the risk of prostate cancer for Black men found here.

The project in a nutshell

• Initial results show that DARC could be used to predict if a man has aggressive prostate cancer.
• The team found that Black men had less DARC protein in the blood/tissue than white men. 
• Future work could include using DARC as a marker to identify men with aggressive prostate cancer at a stage where the prostate cancer is curable.  

What did the team do?

• The team used blood samples from Black and white men to identify which DARC protein is present for Black men.
• This information was combined with clinical information to determine if there is a link between DARC levels and aggressive prostate cancer. 

What did the team achieve?

• The team found out that in general, Black men had less DARC protein than white men in blood samples, which was linked to aggressiveness of prostate cancer.
• The version of DARC protein present is linked to how aggressive prostate cancer is.

How will this benefit men?

• A blood test to identify men who have an aggressive form of prostate cancer will help men get an early diagnosis, when their cancer can be treated effectively. 
• This research is still in its early stages, but the team are working to progress this work to use DARC as a marker in blood samples to identify men who have an aggressive form of prostate cancer.