The distinct impacts of race and genetic ancestry on health COMMENT

Article Oncology

Comparative Genomics Reveals Distinct Immune-oncologic Pathways in African American Men with Prostate Cancer

Shivanshu Awasthi et al.

Summary: Prostate tumors in African American men exhibit a unique immune profile with significant enrichment in proinflammatory immune pathways. The tumor microenvironment of African American men shows higher immune content compared to European American men, as well as lower DNA damage repair and increased genomic radiosensitivity. Overexpression of proinflammatory genes in African American men, such as IFITM3, is associated with higher risk of biochemical recurrence and poorer outcomes.

CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

Race, Genetic Ancestry, and Estimating Kidney Function in CKD

C. Hsu et al.

Summary: The study found that using serum creatinine levels to estimate GFR without taking race (or genetic ancestry) into account led to systematic misclassification. Estimating GFR with cystatin C produced similar results while eliminating negative consequences of race-based approaches.

NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE (2021)

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Review Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

Abandon Race. Focus on Racism

Paula Braveman et al.

Summary: The concept of race emerged in the 1600s with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and has been used to justify slavery, exploitation, denigration, and decimation. Despite scientific evidence against it, a deeply-rooted belief in biological differences based on physical appearance still persists. The term "race" should be abandoned in favor of "ethnic group" to dismantle racism, which influences health and well-being profoundly.

FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH (2021)

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Editorial Material Genetics & Heredity