Journal Article

Molecular and phenotypic profiling of colorectal cancer patients in West Africa reveals biological insights

Schultz, Nikolaus, Shia, Jinru, Shah, Ronak, Arora, Kanika, Gonen, Mithat, Olasehinde, Olalekan, Egberongbe, Adedeji A., Famurewa, Olusola C., Agodirin, Sulaiman O., Adeyeye, Ademola, Constable, Jeremy, Knapp, Gregory C., Wu, Chao, Seier, Ken, Komolafe, Akinwumi O., Kolawole, Oladapo A., Solit, David B., Smith, J. Joshua, Chatila, Walid K., Weiser, Martin R., Chan, Timothy A., Vakiani, Efsevia, Kemel, Yelena, Sharma, Avinash, Adesiyun, Olusola A., Sanchez-Vega, Francisco, Olakanmi, Akinwumi O., Alatise, Olusegun Isaac, Kingham, T. Peter, Olatoke, Samuel A., Arowolo, Olukayode A., Omisore, Adeleye D., Brennan, Murray, Stadler, Zsofia K., Basunia, Azfar, Sylvester, Brooke, Olaofe, Olaejinrinde O., Katung, Aba I., Berger, Michael F., Ibikunle, David E.

2021

Overview

Understanding the molecular and phenotypic profile of colorectal cancer (CRC) in West Africa is vital to addressing the regions rising burden of disease. Tissue from unselected Nigerian patients was analyzed with a multigene, next-generation sequencing assay. The rate of microsatellite instability is significantly higher among Nigerian CRC patients (28.1%) than patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, 14.2%) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC, 8.5%, P  < 0.001). In microsatellite-stable cases, tumors from Nigerian patients are less likely to have APC mutations (39.1% vs. 76.0% MSKCC P  < 0.001) and WNT pathway alterations (47.8% vs. 81.9% MSKCC, P  < 0.001); whereas RAS pathway alteration is more prevalent (76.1% vs. 59.6%, P  = 0.03). Nigerian CRC patients are also younger and more likely to present with rectal disease (50.8% vs. 33.7% MSKCC, P  < 0.001). The findings suggest a unique biology of CRC in Nigeria, which emphasizes the need for regional data to guide diagnostic and treatment approaches for patients in West Africa. Understanding the molecular and phenotypic profile of colorectal cancer (CRC) in West Africa is important for early detection and treatment. Here, the authors use a multigene next-generation sequencing panel to identify genomic differences in Nigerian CRCs compared to those from TCGA and MSKCC cohorts.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 38/39 / 631/208/68 / 631/67/1504/1885 / 631/67/68 / Adenomatous polyposis coli / Adolescent / Adult / Age Factors / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics / Cancer / Case-Control Studies / Colorectal cancer / Colorectal carcinoma / Colorectal Neoplasms - diagnosis / Colorectal Neoplasms - epidemiology / Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics / Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology / Female / High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Humanities and Social Sciences / Humans / Liver Neoplasms - epidemiology / Liver Neoplasms - genetics / Liver Neoplasms - secondary / Lung Neoplasms - epidemiology / Lung Neoplasms - genetics / Lung Neoplasms - secondary / Male / Microsatellite Instability / Middle Aged / multidisciplinary / Mutation / Next-generation sequencing / Nigeria - epidemiology / Patients / Peritoneal Neoplasms - epidemiology / Peritoneal Neoplasms - genetics / Peritoneal Neoplasms - secondary / Risk Factors / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Tumors / Whole genome sequencing / Wnt protein / Young Adult