Gender Impacts Colon Cancer Progression
Photo/S. Peter Lopez
“Taking gender into account when examining the genetic profile of patients may help those who will benefit from specific chemotherapy treatments,” said principal investigator Heinz-Josef Lenz, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Findings from the study were displayed June 4 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The study focused specifically on patients who had been treated with 5-Fluorouracil and oxaliplatin chemotherapy. Researchers were able to identify molecular markers predicting response time to tumor progression and overall survival.
“When we stratified for men and women, different genes appear to be predictive for outcome,” Lenz said. “This is the very first study showing that molecular markers may be sex specific.”
There has been increasing evidence that gender plays a significant role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer, Lenz explained. Colorectal cancer rates are higher among men, and previous studies have shown a protective effect of female hormones.
Seventy-four female and 78 male patients participated in the study, which analyzed 24 polymorphisms in 12 genes involved in cancer progression. Researchers tested for association of specific polymorphisms with overall survival (OS), time to tumor progression (TTP) and tumor response.
Men carrying polymorphisms in the ER-beta and SCN1A genes had improved TTP, versus women carrying polymorphisms in the XPD and EGFR genes. Likewise, male patients carrying ER-beta and MTHFR polymorphisms had improved overall survival, while female patients carrying polymorphisms in SCN1A and PLA2 genes had improved OS.
“These findings are critical since men and women are usually not divided when molecular research is being done,” Lenz explained. “Our results suggest for the first time that genomic profiling to predict clinical outcome of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer depends on gender.”
Funding for this study come from the San Pedro Guild and Cornelius Pings Memorial Fund.
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USC in the News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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