Immune-Function Genes and Race Differences in Breast Cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer occurrence differs among women of different racial/ethnic groups for reasons that remain unclear, and the extent of the differences varies by age. This research aims to explore the relationship of breast cancer to a new genetic risk factor, HLA gene type, that may help explain these differences. Commonly studied as the inherited marker identifying organ transplant matches, HLA genes differ between racial/ethnic groups, are linked to some diseases, and can influence immune clearance of tumor cells in a way that could affect breast cancer development. An HLA-breast cancer relationship has been examined in only two previous studies, one of them focusing on pre-menopausal women; both found that HLA genes affected breast cancer risk. However, the studies were not well-designed and did not look across racial/ethnic groups. We propose to explore this promising new topic in a well-designed study, hoping that our findings will help clarify how the immune system affects breast cancer and provide a basis for new treatment and prevention strategies.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 First, we want to learn whether particular HLA genes are more common in women with breast cancer than in women without the disease. Then, because HLA gene types are known to differ subtly in whites, African-Americans and Hispanics, we want to examine the relationships of HLA and breast cancer separately in each of these racial/ethnic groups. If HLA gene types with strong links to breast cancer appear to be more common in certain of the groups, we will be able to speak to a possible role of these genes in explaining differences in breast cancer occurrence in pre-menopausal women in these ethnic groups.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This study will take advantage of resources already collected for a large Bay Area breast cancer study in which blood samples were provided by white, African-American, and Hispanic pre-menopausal women (214 breast cancer patients (cases) and 269 control women). With these blood samples, we will determine the precise HLA gene types each woman inherited, using advanced laboratory techniques. We will then see if HLA gene types relate to breast cancer by comparing the HLA types inherited by cases and controls in each racial/ethnic group. If we find strong case-control differences in at least one racial/ethnic group, we will compare the relationship of those HLA gene types with breast cancer in all the racial/ethnic groups to see if similar relationships occur and then test to see how much of the breast cancer differences across racial/ethnic groups are explained by HLA type.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This study is innovative in that it will address racial/ethnic differences in breast cancer development and progression by: (1) investigating an understudied, inherited aspect of the immune system (HLA gene type) that is related to diseases and shows normal differences across race groups; (2) using new molecular techniques and a multidisciplinary scientific team; (3) using previously collected blood; (4) using available interview information on breast cancer risk factors and breast cancer survival to examine influences of these factors on any HLA-breast cancer relationship that is found.