Adam S. Kibel, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF Surgery
Keywords: biomarkers, cancer metastasis, genetic epidemiology, molecular genetics, prostate cancer, statistical genetics

Dr. Kibel’s lab focuses on the identification of genetic variants which predispose men to develop aggressive prostate carcinoma. Prostate cancer affects approximately 200,000 men per year and results in 30,000 deaths. Despite the fact that this makes prostate cancer the number 2 cancer killer in men, there is substantial evidence that the majority of men with prostate cancer have an indolent form of the disease. Therefore markers of aggressive disease would be of clear clinical utility.

Subtle variations in the human genome can in certain environments or in concert with other genetic alterations, influence prostate tumor development. We are trying to prove that variants can also influence development of aggressive potentially lethal prostate cancer. If the risk of progression was known, then treatment and screening recommendations could be tailored to patient risk. We are actively identifying candidate variants and then validating them in collaboration with investigators at the NCI and Johns Hopkins.

Once men at increased genetic risk are identified, recommendations to ameliorate risk will be critical. Unfortunately at this time these recommendations cannot be given since it is unknown if modification alters risk for patients with genetic susceptibility. While simple dietary interventions, such as selenium and lycopene, have been proposed as preventive measures for prostate cancer in general, it is unknown if these or any other dietary modifications will modify risk of progression in patients at increased genetic risk. In conjunction with the Public Health Institute and Human Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University, we are beginning to explore the interaction between high risk variants and diet with the hope that we can eventually make recommendations as to how to ameliorate risk.