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Geographic assessment of cancer genome profiling studies


Carrio-Cordo, Paula; Acheson, Elise; Huang, Qingyao; Baudis, Michael (2020). Geographic assessment of cancer genome profiling studies. Database, 2020:baaa009.

Abstract

Cancers arise from the accumulation of somatic genome mutations, which can be influenced by inherited genomic variants and external factors such as environmental or lifestyle-related exposure. Due to the heterogeneity of cancers, precise information about the genomic composition of germline and malignant tissues has to be correlated with morphological, clinical and extrinsic features to advance medical knowledge and treatment options. With global differences in cancer frequencies and disease types, geographic data is of importance to understand the interplay between genetic ancestry and environmental influence in cancer incidence, progression and treatment outcome. In this study, we analyzed the current landscape of oncogenomic screening publications for geographic information content and quality, to address underrepresented study populations and thereby to fill prominent gaps in our understanding of interactions between somatic variations, population genetics and environmental factors in oncogenesis. We conclude that while the use of proxy-derived geographic annotations can be useful for coarse-grained associations, the study of geo-correlated factors in cancer causation and progression will benefit from standardized geographic provenance annotations. Additionally, publication-derived geographic provenance data allowed us to highlight stark inequality in the geographies of cancer genome profiling, with a near lack of sizable studies from Africa and other large regions.

Abstract

Cancers arise from the accumulation of somatic genome mutations, which can be influenced by inherited genomic variants and external factors such as environmental or lifestyle-related exposure. Due to the heterogeneity of cancers, precise information about the genomic composition of germline and malignant tissues has to be correlated with morphological, clinical and extrinsic features to advance medical knowledge and treatment options. With global differences in cancer frequencies and disease types, geographic data is of importance to understand the interplay between genetic ancestry and environmental influence in cancer incidence, progression and treatment outcome. In this study, we analyzed the current landscape of oncogenomic screening publications for geographic information content and quality, to address underrepresented study populations and thereby to fill prominent gaps in our understanding of interactions between somatic variations, population genetics and environmental factors in oncogenesis. We conclude that while the use of proxy-derived geographic annotations can be useful for coarse-grained associations, the study of geo-correlated factors in cancer causation and progression will benefit from standardized geographic provenance annotations. Additionally, publication-derived geographic provenance data allowed us to highlight stark inequality in the geographies of cancer genome profiling, with a near lack of sizable studies from Africa and other large regions.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography
07 Faculty of Science > Institute of Molecular Life Sciences
Dewey Decimal Classification:570 Life sciences; biology
Scopus Subject Areas:Physical Sciences > Information Systems
Life Sciences > General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Life Sciences > General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Language:English
Date:1 January 2020
Deposited On:14 Sep 2020 14:26
Last Modified:24 Nov 2023 02:41
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:1758-0463
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:PubMed ID. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baaa009
PubMed ID:32239182
  • Content: Published Version
  • Language: English
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)