I am interested in the issue of prostate cancer especially, among the rural populace who know little or nothing about this in Nigeria however, the focus had been on the clinical aspect of it. This has made it relatively difficult for us social scientists to coming in examining the problem from the social aspect.
First check sites such as the Cancer Society (link below) on the causes or etiology of prostate cancer. You may then design your study to see if you can detect the effect of one or more of the traits. If you are doing the study in Nigeria some of the factors I might look at would be smoking, use of other 'drugs' or stimulants, diet (adoption of American fast food would be interesting), or living close to a major roadway. Good luck on your study.
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-risk-factors
There are pretty well-known associations in the US with minority status, poverty etc, as the cites below go into. It's not clear to me whether these are biological/genetic as much as access to care and education-based.
Halpern MT, Ward EM, Pavluck AL, Schrag NM, Bian J, Chen AY. 2008. Association of insurance status and ethnicity with cancer stage at diagnosis for 12 cancer sites: a retrospective analysis. Lancet Oncology 9: 222–31
Hoffman RM, Gilliland FD, Eley JW, et al. 2001. Racial and ethnic differences in advanced-stage prostate cancer: the prostate cancer outcomes study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 93(5): 388-395
Conlisk EA, Lengerich EJ, Demark-Wahnefried W, Schildkraut JM, Aldrich TE. 1999. Prostate cancer: demographic and behavioral correlates of stage at diagnosis among blacks and whites in North Carolina. Urology 53(6):1194-1199
Marlow NM, Halpern MT, Pavluck AL. 2010. Disparities associated with advanced prostate cancer stage at diagnosis. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 21(1):112-131
Dr. Huesch, All of these factors may play a role in the disparities seen. My understanding is that prostate cancer becomes more aggressive in some African-American men, but one problem is they do not seek treatment/care until the cancer has progressed too far. As in the case of genetics for hypertension, I wonder if there was an inadvertent selection for this trait in the choice of slaves at purchase in Africa. But, regardless, Okafor I assume you are doing your study in Nigeria so it would be most helpful to first see if various tribes or regions have different prostate cancer rates, evaluate if it is genetic, and then look for the social/cultural causes.
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