{"656740":{"#nid":"656740","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Tackle Cancer Health Disparities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThanks to better diagnostics, therapeutics, and care, the overall cancer mortality rate has plummeted in the past 20 years. But cancer survival disparities stubbornly persist along racial and ethnic lines, demanding a firmer grasp of the underlying mechanisms at play, which would ideally result in better outcomes for populations disproportionately burdened by the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA group of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is tackling this complex, multi-layered problem, and they describe their \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/aacrjournals.org\/cancerres\/article\/doi\/10.1158\/0008-5472.CAN-21-2105\/675684\/Association-of-genetic-ancestry-and-molecular\u0022\u003Elatest work in a recent edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003ECancer Research\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E Their results blur the line between nature and nurture, providing a potential link between the genetic and environmental contributions to cancer health disparities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When you think about race and ethnicity, those are socially ascribed categories, based on cultural expectations and norms\u0026rdquo; said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jordan.biology.gatech.edu\/page\/\u0022\u003EKing Jordan\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and principal investigator of the study. The lead author was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioinformatics.gatech.edu\/kara-keun-lee\u0022\u003EKara Keun Lee\u003C\/a\u003E, a graduate student advised by both Jordan and cancer researcher \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mcdonaldlab.biology.gatech.edu\/john-mcdonald\/\u0022\u003EJohn McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and a co-author of the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo while they approached the work with the understanding that race and ethnicity are not genetic or biological categories, Jordan said the researchers also are aware that health outcomes are a combination of the genetic and biological, with the social and environmental. \u0026ldquo;And we\u0026rsquo;re very interested in that interplay,\u0026rdquo; Jordan said. \u0026ldquo;But this particular study is focused on the idea of using genetic ancestry as a means to drill down to the underlying molecular biology \u0026ndash; the mechanisms that contribute to these survival disparities.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGenetic ancestry, a characteristic of the genome, refers to genomic similarities based on shared ancestors, which can be defined objectively and with precision, \u0026ldquo;independent of the social dimensions of race and ethnicity,\u0026rdquo; Jordan added.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd it turns out, the mechanisms behind cancer survival disparities have plenty to do with the environmental impacts on gene expression, and not on ancestry-related differences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research was a collaboration of the Jordan and McDonald labs at Georgia Tech, blending the two labs\u0026rsquo; experience in multi-omics biological analysis with Lee\u0026rsquo;s biostatistics skills, together with Dr. Leonardo Mari\u0026ntilde;o-Ram\u0026iacute;rez, head of Genomic and Epidemiology Sciences at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nimhd.nih.gov\/\u0022\u003ENIH\u0026rsquo;s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities\u003C\/a\u003E, which helped fund the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKey Ingredient\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe key to analyzing all of the multi-omics and cancer survival data was Lee. Though she\u0026rsquo;s pursuing her Ph.D. in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioinformatics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Bioinformatics Graduate Program\u003C\/a\u003E, Lee\u0026rsquo;s background as both a researcher at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/\u0022\u003ECenters for Disease Control and Prevention\u003C\/a\u003E and an Emory University student, is in biostatistics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile bioinformatics is generally concerned more with collecting and analyzing complex biological and genomics data, biostatistics is focused on broad, bigger-picture biological data to address public health issues. So, for example, when you read that cancer mortality rates have decreased 27%, that\u0026rsquo;s the work of a biostatistician.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We would not have been able to do this study without Kara\u0026rsquo;s expertise in biostatistics,\u0026rdquo; Jordan said. \u0026ldquo;She brings experience as a statistical epidemiologist in health outcomes to our team. One of the really exciting things as a Ph.D. advisor is when you can get a student like Kara that can potentially change the direction of your lab.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELee previously led a study that utilized the National Cancer Institute\u0026rsquo;s Cancer Genome Atlas to analyze 33 cancers and 9,818 patients. The team identified four cancer types with significant survival disparity.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The survival disparities were more stark and more obvious when we looked at genetic ancestry as opposed to self-identified race and ethnicity,\u0026rdquo; said Lee, whose computational tools built a compelling body of evidence showing that nature might actually \u003Cem\u003Ebe\u003C\/em\u003E nurture.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENature as Nurture\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers\u0026rsquo; findings point to epigenetic mechanisms \u0026ndash; not genetics \u0026ndash; as the primary culprit in cancer survival disparities. Epigenetic changes, which can alter the structure of DNA and affect how genes are expressed, can be heavily influenced by the environment around us or the food that we eat.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The thing about epigenetic changes is that they can be inherited, passed down to future generations,\u0026rdquo; said McDonald. \u0026ldquo;That includes the propensity for cancer. But that\u0026rsquo;s the other thing about these epigenetic changes. They don\u0026rsquo;t unalterably change DNA structure. They\u0026rsquo;re reversible. It isn\u0026rsquo;t permanent.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the most interesting discoveries of the study, the researchers agreed, was what they didn\u0026rsquo;t find \u0026ndash; there were no ancestry-related differences in the DNA they analyzed that contributed to survival disparities. Rather, it was epigenetically induced changes in gene expression that were associated with differences in cancer survival between populations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That means the environment may actually change how genes are expressed,\u0026rdquo; said Jordan. \u0026ldquo;Following that epigenetic trail, or at least the logic of it, looking at how genes and the environment interact to shape health disparities will be a big focus of my lab going forward.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION:\u003C\/strong\u003E Kara K. Lee, Lavanya Rishishwar, Dongio Ban, Shashwat Nagar, Leonardo Marino-Ram\u0026iacute;rez, John F. McDonald, and I. King Jordan. \u0026ldquo;Association of Genetic Ancestry and Molecular\u0026nbsp;Signatures with Cancer Survival Disparities: a Pan-Cancer Analysis.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cem\u003E (Cancer Research)\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1158\/0008-5472.CAN-21-2105\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1158\/0008-5472.CAN-21-2105\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFUNDING:\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E Lee, Rishishwar, and Nagar were supported by the IHRC-Georgia Tech Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory (Atlanta, GA; grant no. RF383). Marino-Ram\u0026iacute;rez was supported by the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program and the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (Grant Nos. 1ZIAMD000016 and 1ZIAMD000018). Ban was supported by the Ovarian Cancer Institute. McDonald was supported by the Ovarian Cancer Institute, Deborah Nash Endowment, and Northside Hospital Research Foundation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jordan-McDonald labs collaborate on study that blurs the line between nature and nurture"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2022-03-28 22:44:38","changed_gmt":"2022-03-31 16:47:05","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-03-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-03-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"656739":{"id":"656739","type":"image","title":"Kara and King","body":null,"created":"1648506877","gmt_created":"2022-03-28 22:34:37","changed":"1648506999","gmt_changed":"2022-03-28 22:36:39","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248944","name":"Kara and King.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kara%20and%20King_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kara%20and%20King_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":751529,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Kara%20and%20King_0.jpg?itok=7Mt0iR7Z"}}},"media_ids":["656739"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"190271","name":"cancer disparities"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"182581","name":"health disparities"},{"id":"190272","name":"health care disparities"},{"id":"190273","name":"biostatistics"},{"id":"2546","name":"bioinformatics"},{"id":"190274","name":"multiomics"},{"id":"190275","name":"cancer study"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWriter: Jerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}