There is growing evidence that unfavorable neighborhood contexts may influence prostate cancer (CaP) progression. Whether these associations may be explained in part by differences in tumor-level somatic alterations remain unclear.
Data on tumor markers (PTEN, p53, ERG, and SPINK1) were obtained from 1,157 participants with CaP in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Neighborhood greenness, socioeconomic status, and the income Index of Concentration at Extremes were obtained from satellite and Census data and linked to participants' address at diagnosis and at study enrollment. Exposures were scaled to an interquartile range and modeled as tertiles. Bivariate associations between tertiles of neighborhood factors and tumor markers were assessed in covariate adjusted logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
There was no association between any of the neighborhood contextual factors and PTEN, p53, ERG, or SPINK1 in bivariate or multivariable adjusted models. Results were generally consistent when modeling exposure using exposure at diagnosis or at study enrollment.
In this multilevel study of men with CaP, we found no evidence of associations between neighborhood context and tumor tissue markers.
Our results provide some of the first empirical data in support of the hypothesis that CaP risk conferred by tumor tissue markers may arise independently of underlying neighborhood context. Prospective studies in more diverse populations are needed to confirm these findings.
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 2023 May 26 [Epub ahead of print]
Hari S Iyer, Kevin H Kensler, Jane B Vaselkiv, Konrad H Stopsack, Charlotte Roscoe, Elisa V Bandera, Bo Qin, Thomas L Jang, Tamara L Lotan, Peter James, Jaime E Hart, Lorelei A Mucci, Francine Laden, Timothy R Rebbeck
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, United States., Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States., Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States., Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, United States., Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, United States., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States., Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, United States., Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States., Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.