IRONMAN is an international study that is focused on amassing the largest cohort of men (5000) with advanced prostate cancer. Given the low representation of Black men with prostate cancer in preclinical and clinical research, IRONMAN has partnered with the African Caribbean Cancer Consortium (AC3), headed by Prof. Camille Ragin, and the Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC), the academic home of Prof. Ragin where she is the Associate Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, to right this wrong. Through partnering with AC3 and FCCC, IRONMAN continues to recruit Black men from Africa, the Caribbean, Jamaica, Bahamas, Kenya, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Alabama.
Globally, there are an estimated 1.3 million new cases of prostate cancer and 359,000 prostate cancer deaths each year, making this disease the second most frequent cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide (Bray et al., 2018). Advanced prostate cancer is heterogeneous clinically and includes men with newly diagnosed, metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate (mHSPC) as well as nonmetastatic (M0)/metastatic disease (M1) castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) disease. There is rapid evolution in the clinical treatment of advanced prostate cancer given the introduction of six new therapies during the last six years. Nonetheless, there continues to be a disparity in the clinical guidelines and practice in the treatment of advanced disease, although consensus recommendations are emerging (Gillessen et al., 2015). At the same time, several new agents – including PARP inhibitors, the Prostvac vaccine, and ARN-509 (apalutamide) – are in various stages in the pipeline, and there will be a need to identify the sequence and combination of these agents in the context of existing therapies. The goal is to establish a population-based registry and recruit patients across academic and community practices from around the world, of which Jamaica is a part. This cohort study will facilitate a better understanding of the variation in care and treatment of advanced prostate cancer across countries and across academia and community-based practices.
Team members are Drs. Simone Badal, Rory Thompson, Belinda Morrison, and Profs. William Aiken and Gillian Wharfe and Mrs Natalie Guthrie-Dixon.