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Distribution of Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and Risk of Prostate Cancer in Barbados, West Indies

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Abstract

Blood typing across different racial groups has revealed that Caucasians predominantly test positive for the Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines (DARC), while 70–95 % of African-origin populations lack expression of DARC on their erythrocytes. Since men of African descent are known to have higher rates of prostate cancer (PC) and some animal studies have indicated anti-angiogenic effects associated with Duffy-positive mice, DARC-negativity may help to explain some of the racial differences in prostate tumorigenesis. The Prostate Cancer in a Black Population (PCBP) Study, a large case–control investigation including 1,007 incident PC cases and 1,005 controls, performed DARC testing on a subset of 1,295 participants (641 cases, 654 controls). The relationship between DARC expressivity and PC risk was evaluated using logistic regression models and findings are presented as odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals. More than three-quarters (76.5 %) of African-Barbadian men lacked DARC expression, whereas almost three-fifths (59.3 %) of White participants tested positive for the Duffy a and b alleles. DARC-negativity was not found to be associated with PC risk in the present investigation [OR 1.04, 95 % CI (0.78, 1.37)], regardless of tumor grade. Findings from the PCBP study indicate that the majority of African-Barbadian men do not express DARC on their erythrocytes, yet absence of expression does not appear to be associated with PC development in this population.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Human Genome Research Institute (contract N01HG25487) and the National Cancer Institute (Grant R01CA114379). Also authors would like to acknowledge the Prostate Cancer in a Black Population Study Group: Investigators Coordinating Center M. Cristina Leske, MD, MPH; Barbara Nemesure, PhD; Suh-Yuh Wu, MA; Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, NY and Clinical Center Anselm Hennis, MBBS, PhD, FRCP; Winston Scott Polyclinic, Bridgetown, Barbados and Local Laboratory Center Lyndon Waterman, PhD; University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados and Gene Discovery Center John Carpten, PhD; Jeffrey Trent, PhD; Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ and NHGRI Joan Bailey-Wilson, PhD; National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD and Nutritional Collaborator Sangita Sharma, PhD; Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Barbados Advisory Committee Professor Trevor A. Hassell, GCM, MBBS, FRCP, FACC; Professor Henry Fraser, GCM, MBBS, FRCP, FACP; Dr. Jerry Emtage, MBBS, FRCS(C); Mr. Selwyn Ferdinand, MBBS, FRCS (Ed); The Honourable Mr. Justice W. Leroy Inniss, QC; Dr. Timothy Roach, MBBS, FRCP; Dr. Gina Watson [PAHO], Dr. Joy St. John [CMO]; Consultant Urologists Dr. Jerry Emtage, MBBS, FRCS(C); Dr. Dave Padmore, MBBS, FRCS(C); Dr. Irving Smith, MBBS, FRCS. Departments of Urology, Surgery, Pathology and Radiotherapy, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, Barbados.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8036, USA

    Barbara Nemesure, Suh-Yuh Wu, Anselm Hennis & M. Cristina Leske

  2. Chronic Disease Research Centre, University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies

    Anselm Hennis

  3. Ministry of Health, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies

    Anselm Hennis

Authors
  1. Barbara Nemesure
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  2. Suh-Yuh Wu
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  3. Anselm Hennis
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  4. M. Cristina Leske
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Correspondence to Barbara Nemesure.

Additional information

The study was conducted by the Prostate Cancer in a Black Population Study Group and the article was written for the group.

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Nemesure, B., Wu, SY., Hennis, A. et al. Distribution of Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and Risk of Prostate Cancer in Barbados, West Indies. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 679–683 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9970-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9970-x

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