Study finds racial disparities in side-specific biological aging of the colon
The colons of African-Americans and people of European descent age differently, new research reveals, helping explain racial disparities in colorectal cancer - the cancer that killed beloved Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman at only 43.
Scientists led by UVA Health s Li Li, MD, PhD; Graham Casey, PhD; and Matt Devall, PhD, of the Center for Public Health Genomics, found that one side of the colon ages biologically faster than the other in both African-Americans and people of European descent. In African-Americans, however, the right side ages significantly faster, explaining why African-Americans are more likely to develop cancerous lesions on the right side and why they are more likely to suffer colorectal cancer at a younger age, the researchers say.
A single genetic test can identify the presence and cause of mismatch repair deficiency
Researchers have developed a new integrated genetic/epigenetic DNA-sequencing protocol known as MultiMMR that can identify the presence and cause of mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency in a single test from a small sample of DNA in colon, endometrial, and other cancers. This alternative to complex, multi-step testing workflows can also determine causes of MMR deficiency often missed by current clinical tests. Their results are presented in the
Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier.
MMR genes monitor and repair errors that can occur in normal cell replication and recombination. In some inherited and acquired cancers, one or more of the MMR genes are deactivated. The impact of MultiMMR is broad. Tumors with MMR deficiency respond well to new cancer immunotherapies, explains lead investigator Trevor J. Pugh, PhD, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto; Princess M
A new study describes how a successful application of mitigation techniques to prevent COVID-19 transmission to cancer patients admitted to or attending a healthcare facility might look.