Abstract A75: Connecting sociology to biology: Applying fundamental social cause theory to address race disparities in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer accounts for 37% of all cancers diagnosed in African American men compared to 25 % of cancers diagnosed among men of all races and African American men are 2.4 times more likely than white men to die of the disease. After much research race, age, family history of prostate cancer and living in a Westernized nation are the only consistently recognized risk factors for the disease. Most race disparities research to date has simply taken genes and/or exposures previously examined in predominantly white populations and re-conducted studies in African-Americans. These studies have not taken into account larger social factors that may explain disparities in prostate cancer. Fundamental Social Cause Theory holds that social factors play a role in an individual's ability to avoid disease or manage a disease once it is present. A fundamental social cause influences multiple resources, multiple risk factors and leads to multiple diseases. Factors such as socioeconomic status and residential segregation have been proposed as potential fundamental social causes of disease disparities. Racial residential segregation, in particular, leads to lower quality housing, neighborhoods, education, employment and health care for African-Americans. Prostate cancer is a complex disease that is often described as a “multi-hit” process and therefore, research on prostate cancer disparities may benefit from the application of Fundamental Social Cause Theory. We present an application of the theory using residential segregation as a potential fundamental social cause of prostate cancer disparities. We report associations for African American and white prostate cancer cases and controls that were enrolled in the Gene-Environment Interaction in Prostate Cancer Study (GECAP). Associations for area and individual level factors and disease risk and aggressiveness are reported.