RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN LUNG ADENOCARCINOMA MUTATIONS

Harvard School Of Public Health, Boston MA

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Abstract

Project Summary: This project proposes to perform high-throughput cancer mutation profiling on 500 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) specimens from White and African-American populations, with a view to testing the hypothesis that common somatic cancer mutations vary in frequency as a function of race. Specimens of FFPE NSCLC will be obtained from the VA Cancer Tissue Repository and Database site. DNA will be extracted and run on an expanded OncoMap platform, using the Sequenom mass-spectrometric genotyping technology. We will compare the frequencies of cancer causing and cancer susceptibility mutations by race, SES, gender and smoking status, utilizing CanCORS clinical and survey data associated with the NSCLC specimens. Achieving these objectives should establish a basis for definitive research regarding the interplay of somatic genetic and social contextual factors that influence cancer outcomes across populations.