An elevated rate of whole-genome duplications in cancers from Black patients

In brief

Whole-genome duplications (WGDs) are a genomic event that enhances cancer metastasis and is associated with more aggressive cancers and shorter patient survival. We here show that cancers from self-reported Black patients exhibit a significantly higher frequency of WGD events compared to tumors from self-reported white patients. Moreover, their cancers also exhibit mutational signatures consistent with exposure to combustion byproducts. We demonstrate that these carcinogens are capable of inducing whole-genome duplications in cell culture.

Together, these findings identify a type of genomic alteration that is associated with environmental exposures and could explain why Black individuals have higher rates of cancer mortality than any other racial group in the US.