Race Disparities in Genetic Alterations Within Wilms Tumor Specimens
jpedsurg.org shows its articles on its own site.
Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Feb 2021 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Study analyzing TARGET database reveals racial disparities in Wilms tumor genetics: Black children present with more advanced disease and higher rates of ACTB and DICER1 mutations, while White children show more overall mutations including DGCR8. Findings may explain disproportionate WT burden in Black pediatric patients.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Background
Wilms tumor (WT) affects Black children disproportionately. Genetic aberrations within WT specimens that contribute to this disparity have not been reported.
Methods
The Therapeutically Applied Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) database was queried for WT patient and genomic features. Clinical and genetic variables were compared by race.
Results
Within the discovery set (enriched for adverse events; N = 94 White, 19 Black, 14 Other/unreported patients), Black children were more likely to present with advanced stage disease (p = 0.019). Within the validation set (primarily a random sampling of NWTS-5; N = 360 White, 92 Black, 72 Other/Unreported), Black children appeared older at diagnosis (p = 0.050), had decreased median follow-up time (p<0.0005) and were over-represented (17.4%) relative to the concurrent U.S. Census (12.8%). Among the 37 target genes sequenced, ACTB (p = 0.030) and DICER1 (p = 0.026) mutations were more common in Black patient specimens, whereas DGCR8 (p = 0.041) mutations were more common in White patient specimens. White patient specimens were more likely to contain one or multiple targeted mutations (p = 0.026).
Conclusion
Within the TARGET database, Black children were over-represented and harbored WT specimens containing more frequent ACTB and DICER1 mutations. In contrast, WT from White children contained overall more mutations in targeted genes and specifically in DGCR8.
Level of Evidence
III.