Lung cancers in some African-Americans
, European-Americans may have biological differences
Date : Source :
December 1 , 2017 American Association for Cancer Research
Summary : Differences in the genes expressed in non-small cell lung cancers ( NSCLCs ) from some
African-Americans and European-Americans suggest that there are racial differences in the biology of NSCLC, which could have clinical relevance .
Differences in the genes expressed in non-small cell lung cancers ( NSCLCs ) from some African-Americans and European-Americans suggest that there are racial differences in the biology of NSCLC , which could have clinical relevance , suggests new research published in Clinical Cancer Research , a journal of the
American Association for Cancer Research by
Bríd M . Ryan , PhD , MPH , an NIH Stadtman Investigator in the Laboratory of Human
Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute ' s Center for Cancer Research in
Bethesda ,
Maryland
.
" We are entering the age of ' precision medicine' in which diagnosis and therapy decisions for each cancer patient will be based on detailed molecular and chemical fingerprints ," said Ryan . " Much of the revolutionary work that underpins precision medicine has been conductedd on populations of European descent , with limited work in minority populations ."
" But we want to make sure that all populations can benefit from this approach ," she continued . " Studying the biology of lung cancer in African‐Americans is one step toward that goal ."
Khadijah A . Mitchell , PhD , a postdoctoral research fellow in Ryan ' s laboratory , and colleagues analyzed normal and NSCLC tissue obtained from 64 African‐Americans and 74 European‐ Americans during surgery to remove their lung tumors . Tissue from
22 African‐Americans and 19 European‐Americans was analyzed for mRNA expression , which provides information about gene expression , and tissue from the remaining patients was analyzed for microRNA expression . These two different kinds of RNA have related , but different , roles inside the cell .
The researchers found that expression of 2,210 genes was more than two‐fold increased or decreased in NSCLC from African‐Americans compared with matched normal tissue . For European‐American samples , 2,921 genes were differentially expressed by more than two‐folboth African‐Americans and European‐Americans , but
. Many of the genes were differentially expressed between NSCLC and normal tissue in 637 and 1,844 were differentially expressed only in African‐Americans and
European‐Americans , respectively . The genes differentially expressed only in the African‐American NSCLC samples were enriched for those involved in stem cell biology and invasive behavior . The genes differentially expressed only in European‐ Americans were enriched for those involved in cell cycle , mitosis , and proliferation .