Overview
The MSK Endometrial Cancer Ancestry Cohort (msk_ec_anc) study, published in Cancer Discovery in 2023, is a comprehensive genomic analysis of 1,882 endometrial cancer patients aimed at understanding the molecular basis of racial disparities in endometrial cancer survival.
Key Findings on Disparity
- High-Risk Subtypes: Researchers found that Black patients had a higher prevalence of aggressive tumor types, specifically the copy number-high (CN-H/TP53abn) molecular subtype.
- Molecular Differences: Almost 70% of Black patients in the study had the high-risk CN-H/TP53abn subtype, compared to 35% of white patients.
- Immunotherapy Differences: Tumors from Black patients were less likely to be microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H), a marker often associated with favorable responses to immunotherapy.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Dataset Characteristics
- Sequencing Method: All samples were analyzed using the MSK-IMPACT targeted sequencing platform.
- Sample Size: 1,882 endometrial cancer cases, including matched normal samples.
- Clinical Data Provided: The dataset includes patient ethnicity (Hispanic/Non-Hispanic), race (White, Black, etc.), histology, tumor mutation count, molecular subtypes, and clinical outcomes.
- Main Histologies Included: Uterine endometrioid carcinoma (54.3%), Uterine Serous Carcinoma (15%), and Uterine Carcinosarcoma (12%).