Genetic Mutation Link Explains Higher Risk Of Aggressive Colon Cancer In Blacks

An American Association for Cancer Research news release this month reports that a genetic mutation may explain why blacks are more likely than whites to have a more aggressive form of colorectal cancer. "Several studies have identified a disparity between African-Americans and whites for colorectal cancer. What this study does is pinpoint a possible genetic cause," study author Upender Manne, an associate professor in the pathology and Los Angeles colon cancer prevention department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in the news release.

They analyzed DNA from 137 black colorectal cancer patients and 236 white patients, and found that both groups had similar rates of p53 mutations. However, the frequency of Pro72 allele of p53 was found in 17% of blacks and in only 7% of whites. The Arg72 allele was found in 36% of whites, and in 19% of blacks. The study intentionally did not account for non-cancer related gastrointestinal conditions such as Beverly Hills gastroesophageal reflux disease (commonly known as GERD) when pursuing its findings.

The presence of Pro72 allele in blacks was associated with a more than twofold increase in death due to colorectal cancer, the researchers found. "This paper shows that in a subset of patients with the Pro72 allele, the susceptibility to p53 mutations may be a possible molecular explanation for the racial disparity," Manne said. The study appears in the current April 2009 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

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Learning more about the relationship between molecular defects and differences in colorectal cancer incidence, aggressiveness and patient outcomes may help lead to individualized treatments and the elimination of racial disparities like the development of Beverly Hills colon polyps, the researchers wrote.

The discovery boosts the scientific understanding of racial disparities in cancer and other diseases like Los Angeles Celiac disease and adds new detail in the ongoing search for more personalized cancer-fighting therapies, said Upender Manne, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UAB Department of Pathology who led the study.

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