Recruiting Diverse Prostate Cancer Survivors in Health Outcomes Research: Lessons Learned from Survey and Biospecimen Collection.

BACKGROUND

Addressing disparities in prostate cancer requires inclusive research that recruits racially and ethnically diverse participants. This article describes the recruitment procedures and participant characteristics of a biospecimen-based study involving African American (AA), Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White (NHW) prostate cancer survivors.

METHODS

AA participants were recruited through an existing biobank, whereas Hispanic and NHW participants were recruited from Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of Miami. Eligible survivors were approached via mail/phone/in person. Consented participants completed paper or electronic patient-reported outcomes measures (English or Spanish) and provided a saliva sample. Recruitment outcomes and participant characteristics were summarized by racial/ethnic group. Genetic ancestry was estimated using admixture analyses based on the 1000 Genomes Project.

RESULTS

Of the 1,862 survivors approached, 648 (35%) consented. Consent rates were highest among AA (56%), followed by NHW (37%) and Hispanic (20%) participants. Among those enrolled, 632 participants (mean age = 64 at diagnosis) completed surveys and self-identified as AA (n = 251), Hispanic (n = 130), or NHW (n = 251). Among those who provided saliva samples (n = 567), genetic admixture analysis revealed that AA participants predominantly shared African ancestry [mean (M) = 82%], NHW participants showed mostly European ancestry (M = 95%), and Hispanic participants displayed a heterogeneous mix of European (M = 67%), African (M = 16%), and admixed American (M = 13%) ancestry.

CONCLUSIONS

Our inclusive recruitment approaches yielded a racially and genetically diverse cohort of prostate cancer survivors.

IMPACT: These findings support the feasibility of recruiting diverse populations and integrating self-reported and genomic data to advance research on cancer survivorship disparities.