Eligibility for treatment with the latest cancer drugs is often determined by genetic mutations in tumors, criteria that leave minority patients at a disadvantage due to their under-representation in clinical trials, a new study found.
The earlier studies that identified the gene mutations, or specific cancer biomarkers, targeted by these drugs were primarily done in patients of European ancestry, researchers reported on Thursday in JAMA Oncology.
Under-representation of non-European ancestral groups in research databases and biobanks has stymied identification of biomarkers that are rare overall but common in minority groups, the researchers said.
Studying data on 59,433 cancer patients, they found significant differences between various ancestry groups in biomarker-based eligibility for treatment with precision oncology drugs, which are targeted to the DNA signature of an individual patient's tumor.
Patients with African ancestry were least likely to have the biomarkers that would make them eligible for precision oncology drugs, but those of East Asian and South Asian ancestries were also less likely to benefit from these personalized therapies, said study leader Debyani Chakravarty of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
These genetic ancestry-based differences in biomarker-based eligibility for cancer treatments do not entirely explain the care access disparities faced by historically marginalized populations in the United States, Chakravarty said.
"Other contributors to these disparities exist, and many researchers... are actively working to identify and address them."
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