NEW ORLEANS - A local doctor says he has made a significant discovery concerning why African-American men have a greater chance of getting prostate cancer than white men and a greater chance of dying from it.
This discovery could not only lead to saving lives, but to more research dollars coming to New Orleans to find out more about this scientific breakthrough.
At a lab at LSU Health Sciences Center, Dr. Shahriar Koochekpour set about trying to find out why prostate cancer is more prevalent and lethal in African-American men.
"In the beginning, they say that it can't be done," said Koochekpour, an assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and parasitology at the LSU Stanley Scott Cancer Center.
Some in the scientific community thought he was on the wrong track because of the results of genetic testing that had been done in the past on Caucasian men.
But Koochekpour started looking for a possible genetic mutation, or a change in the genes of local men, that could be doing the damage. He took blood from local white and black men whose families had a history of prostate cancer. From there, he got their DNA and that's when he made a major discovery.
"The most interesting thing about this study is that nobody has ever questioned this very important gene in African-American men population," he explained.
Koochekpour became the first person to discover that black men, not white men, can inherit a genetic defect in the receptor for their male hormone, testosterone. And that may be what's contributing to this higher rate of cancer in the prostate gland.
"One of these families that had nine members with prostate cancer, nine men with prostate cancer in second and third generation, I discovered the mutation happened in those family members," said Koochekpour.
To the doctor it meant his discovery hit the global scientific community, opening up a new way of thinking and new direction in research. Already it means more grant money will pour into LSU so Dr. Koochekpour can do more detailed studies on hundreds, rather than just dozens of men.
But for local African-American families, who have seen generations of loved ones die of prostate cancer, it could mean one day in the future, there will be a test where men can find out very early on that they have the genetic defect and then just remove their prostate before they ever get sick.
"If you do this test, the treatment, with absolute cure, is possible. You can catch it (early), you remove the prostate gland, and that would be it," he said.
Men can still lead normal lives, have normal sexual relations and have children after having their prostates removed.
The doctor is not ready to sign up men for the next study but may be ready by early summer.
Medical watch will update this story when the new studies open up for local men to join for testing.
