The National Cancer Institute has awarded the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai a $3.4 million grant to create a model that identifies the best prostate cancer treatment for people with HIV.
This project will use state-of-the-art computer models and data to investigate the natural progression of prostate cancer, and outcomes using various treatments, in people with HIV to identify treatment approaches that work best in this vulnerable group.
"This grant is significant because very little research has been done on the impact of HIV on prostate cancer's progression and treatment," said Keith Sigel, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine, and Infectious Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Prostate cancer is an important and understudied cancer for people with HIV. Researchers at Mount Sinai are using a variety of cutting-edge tools to improve our understanding of these two diseases and help manage this cancer better in this population."
Prostate cancer will be the leading cancer diagnosed in people living with HIV in the next decade as more men with HIV are living longer than ever. Mount Sinai is a national leader in research and treatment for HIV-associated cancer, and this grant will help researchers embark on new, clinically important research for an understudied cancer in this population.
Mount Sinai's existing collaborations with other leading researchers across the country contributed to the award of this grant. Scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center, and Yale University School of Medicine will collaborate with Mount Sinai researchers on this project.
"There is significant uncertainty regarding how prostate cancer should be managed in persons with HIV. HIV-associated immunosuppression may interfere with disease progression, so persons with localized prostate cancer may have a higher risk of progressing more rapidly to intermediate risk, for example," said Ashish Deshmukh, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. "We don't know differences in quality of life and whether HIV-associated comorbidities may affect outcomes."
Elizabeth Chiao, MD, Professor of Epidemiology at MD Anderson, added, "Recent advances in surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy have greatly enhanced prostate cancer care. Yet, a data gap exists regarding its management and outcomes in HIV-positive men. We are excited to build on our collaborative research efforts to provide evidence-based best practice guidance for men living with HIV and prostate cancer."
