Cancer research led by WCM-Q paves way for precision prevention program
The study, led by Dr. Lotfi Chouchane of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), has been published online in the Lancet Oncology – a leading peer-reviewed medical journal.
A new study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar and the Qatar Genome Research Consortium has reported the first landscape of cancer germline variation – known as inherited cancer – in the Middle East.
The study, led by Dr. Lotfi Chouchane of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), has been published online in the Lancet Oncology – a leading peer-reviewed medical journal. Titled, “Genetic predisposition to cancer across people of different ancestries in Qatar: a population-based, cohort study,” the study provides in-depth screening of both common and rare cancer genetic markers in Qataris.
The risk of developing cancer varies according to ancestry. Countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, are experiencing an alarming increase in cancer patients. Numerous disease-associated genetic markers, including of cancer, display substantial diversity among different populations.
However, the difference in risk of cancer between those who have inherited cancer, passed down from generation to generation, are not well defined in the Arab population. The present study sheds light on the cancer genetic markers found in Arab populations to help understand the development or progression of cancer, and highlights the high degree of diversity of susceptibility to cancer across ancestries observed in the Qatari population. These findings could be considered for the implementation of national cancer preventive medicine programs.
The study, funded jointly by Qatar National Research Fund and Qatar Genome Programme through their Path Towards Precision Medicine funding program (PPM04-0311-200035) and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, involved researchers from WCM-Q along with other scientists from QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), Sidra Medicine and the Qatar Genome Research Consortium. The study includes over 6,000 Qatari individuals with whole genome sequence data.
Dr. Chouchane, lead principal investigator of the study and professor of genetic medicine, professor of microbiology and immunology at WCM-Q, said: “Incorporation of precision medicine technology, including cancer screening and genome sequencing, into the primary care system in Qatar has significant potential. The results of our study comprise a valuable source to capture cancer genetic markers in the different ancestries of the Arab populations and define quantitative and qualitative expectations for the results of personal genome sequencing.
“With screening, prevention, and early detection at the forefront of the cancer agenda in Qatar, we propose to leverage the population genome sequencing by initiating national population testing programs to identify highly penetrant cancer gene mutation carriers, like individuals being at an increased risk for hereditary breast/ovarian cancers. Our study is paving way to deliver a precision cancer prevention program in Qatar.”
Dr. Said Ismail, director of Qatar Genome Programme, a member of Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation, said: “We are determined at Qatar Genome along with our partners to spearhead the transition from bench to bedside and this array is the starting point to provide a personalized screening for health and disease in Qatar and the region.”
Micheal Pellini, MD, the former president and chief executive officer of Foundation Medicine, Inc., a leading company in the precision oncology field, and currently a managing partner of Section 32, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on investing at the intersection of technology and healthcare, said: “This paper gives great insights into how we could/should be thinking about cancer screening/risk in the future. If we can better understand a person's, or even a subpopulation's germline risk, we could tailor screening protocols rather than treating everyone the same. It will save resources and expenses, and result in much better, more personalized, care.”
Hamdi Mbarek, research partnerships manager at Qatar Genome Programme, said: “The study – part of the Qatar Genome Research Consortium and among several other ongoing projects focusing on diseases of national priority – aims also to fill gap of the underrepresented Arab ancestry in genomic research and contribute to increasing diversity and equity, a key to advance science globally.”