Tumor Molecular Profiling in Hispanics: Moving Towards Precision Oncology and Health Equity

The objective of our study was to characterize common somatic alterations and carcinogenic pathways among Puerto Rican Hispanics with solid tumors.MethodsWe conducted a single-institution, retrospective study to characterize molecular tumor profiles using a 592-gene NGS platform. Actionable mutations with current or developing therapies targeting affected genes/pathways were highlighted.ResultsTumors from 50 Hispanic patients were evaluated using CARIS Life Science © NGS testing. The median age of our study population was 55 (range 21–84); 54% (n = 27) were males. The primary tumor sites were colorectal (n = 24), gastric (n = 5), breast (n = 4), and lung (n = 3). The most common genetic mutations identified were inTP53 (44%),APC (38%), andKRAS (32%); followed by alterations inEGFR (4%),HER2 (6%), and homologous recombinant deficiency genes (BRCA2, 6%). Genetic alterations were found in multiple signaling pathways particularly in the cell cycle control pathway,MAPK andWnt/ β-Catenin signaling pathways. Targetable biomarkers were identified in 27/50 (54.0%) of tumors.DiscussionMolecular profiling techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, have substantially expanded access to alterations in the cancer genome. Our findings demonstrated important actionable mutations in most of the tumors evaluated and support the integration of somatic mutation profiling in the evaluation of Hispanic cancer patients with advanced cancer to help guide therapeutic opti...
Source: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research