Association of genetic ancestry with colorectal tumor location in Puerto Rican Latinos

Julyann Pérez-Mayoral, Marievelisse Soto-Salgado, Ebony Shah, Rick Kittles, Mariana C. Stern, Myrta I. Olivera, María Gonzalez-Pons, Segundo Rodriguez-Quilichinni, Marla Torres, Jose S. Reyes, Luis Tous, Nicolas López, Victor Carlo Chevere, Marcia Cruz-Correa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the first cause of cancer deaths among Puerto Ricans. The incidence and mortality of CRC in Puerto Rico continue to be on the rise. The burden of CRC in Puerto Rico is higher than among US Hispanics and is second only to African Americans, thus supporting the importance of studying this CRC health disparity. The genetic background of the Puerto Rican population is a mix of European, African, and Amerindian races, which may account, in part, for the differences observed in the CRC mortality rates among Puerto Ricans. The objective of the study was to assess the role of genetic ancestry in CRC risk and its association with clinicopathological features of CRC tumors in Puerto Ricans. RESULTS: We used a validated panel of 105 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) to estimate genetic ancestry in 406 Puerto Rican CRC cases and 425 Puerto Rican controls. We examined the association of genetic ancestry with CRC risk and tumor clinicopathological characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The mean ancestry proportions in the study population were 61% European, 21% African, and 18% Amerindian. No association was observed between genetic ancestry and risk of CRC. However, African ancestry was associated with an increased risk of developing rectal tumors (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.04-2.31). Additional studies are needed to fully elucidate the role of African ancestry in CRC carcinogenesis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12
Number of pages1
JournalHuman genomics
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 20 2019

Keywords

  • African ancestry
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Colorectal tumors
  • Genetic ancestry
  • Hispanic
  • Latinos

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Drug Discovery

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