Northwestern Medicine researchers have uncovered significant racial disparities in uterine serous carcinoma (USC), a rare and aggressive form of endometrial cancer. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that USC tumors in Black patients exhibit more aggressive and immunosuppressive characteristics compared to those in white patients.
Dr. Julie Kim (above), senior author of the study, emphasized the impact of environmental and societal factors on health outcomes. “Our environment, our behaviors, societal stressors, they all impact us psychologically as well as physically,” she said. The research team performed single-nuclei RNA sequencing on USC tumor samples from four white patients and nine Black patients.
The findings revealed that tumors from Black patients showed increased expression of genes associated with tumor aggressiveness, particularly PAX8, which is linked to worse overall survival rates. Additionally, PAX8 was found to influence macrophage activity within the tumor microenvironment, suppressing anti-tumor immune responses more prominently in tumors from Black patients.
These results highlight the clinical relevance of PAX8 upregulation in USC, especially among Black patients, and suggest it could serve as a potential therapeutic target. The study underscores the racial disparity in endometrial cancer, where Black women face higher mortality rates.
Dr. Kim stressed the importance of confirming these findings in a larger patient cohort and exploring potential drug treatments that could enhance immune system responses in tumors with increased PAX8 expression. This research contributes to the understanding of endometrial cancer and may lead to improved survival rates for patients, particularly those from underserved populations.
See “Study Identifies Racial Differences in Rare Endometrial Cancer” (August 15, 2024)
