Efforts to Grow Genomic Research in Ancestrally Diverse and Admixed Populations

Recent initiatives by the research community to characterize the genomic and molecular landscapes of tumors in ancestrally diverse and admixed populations, including the publication by Ding and colleagues in this issue of Cancer Research, represent important efforts to improve our understanding of the entire spectrum of cancer genomic variation with potential clinical consequences. Ding and colleagues confirmed a similar prevalence of mutations in established breast cancer driver genes including PIK3CA, TP53, GATA3, MAP3K1, CDH1, CBFB, PTEN, and RUNX1 and recurrent amplifications in breast cancer drivers including MYC, FGFR1, CCND1, and ERBB2 in tumors from Hispanic/Latina women as compared with non-Hispanic White women. Importantly, they also identified Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) signature 16 in a significant fraction of tumors from Hispanic/Latina women and a novel recurrent amplification on 17q11.2. This study highlights the potential for inclusion of participants from diverse populations to accelerate discoveries and advance equity in genomic medicine, as well as the need for even larger collaborative initiatives. See related article by Ding et al., p. 2600.