Abstract A05: Secondary consent to research use of biospecimens among men

Abstract

Abstract Background: Research conducted with stored biospecimens has substantial societal benefits. Equally important is the use of the samples for research unplanned at the time of consent for biospecimen collection; however, willingness to allow samples to be used for future research may vary by sociodemographic backgrounds. Much of the literature on secondary research use of biospecimens is conducted among women and therefore, little is known about male willingness to consent to secondary research use of biospecimens. Methods: This study analyzed the future research consent questions from a prostate cancer biorepository study (N=1,932). The prostate cancer biorepository study enrolled men after a prostate cancer diagnosis but before treatment to collect serum and tissue for analyses on genetic, dietary and clinical risk factors for prostate cancer recurrence and mortality. On the consent form, men were asked three separate questions regarding participation in future studies: 1) May we use the materials collected in this study to analyze other factors? 2) May we share your information with other investigators at our institution without any protected health information? 3) May we share your information with other investigators at our university with protected health information? We analyzed each of these questions separately to determine significant predictors for consent to each of these questions. Predictors assessed included race, age, education, marital status, employment status, smoking history, family history of prostate cancer, stage of cancer, and grade of cancer. Results: 99.33% consented to the secondary use of other factors; 98.39% consented to the secondary use with other investigators without any identifying information; and 68.88% consented to the secondary use with other investigators with identifying information. Race was the only significant predictor for each of the three questions. African-American men were significantly less likely to agree to the secondary use to analyze other factors (Chi sq=8.38, p=0.0152); to share samples without protected health information (Chi sq=29.79, p<0.0001); or to share samples with protected health information (Chi sq=12.85, p=0.0016). Conclusion: There is a general willingness to consent to secondary research use of biospecimens among men. However, African-American men remain less likely to consent to secondary research use than men of other racial backgrounds. Racial differences in willingness to consent affect whether data generated from biorepositories are applicable to African American men. Citation Format: Bettina F. Drake, William MacMillan, Jennifer Haslag-Minoff, Kimberly Kaphingst. Secondary consent to research use of biospecimens among men. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A05. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-A05