Molecular profiling of breast cancer in native American women reveals distinct genomic and transcriptomic features
摘要
Breast cancer outcomes vary across populations, yet Native American women remain scarcely represented in tumor-genomic resources, limiting population-specific molecular insights. We generated matched somatic mutation, copy-number, and RNA-seq profiles for 17 breast tumors from Native American women and performed race-stratified comparisons with White cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Breast Invasive Carcinoma (BRCA) cohort (TCGA-BRCA). We observed population-associated differences across molecular layers, including higher mutation frequencies in ARID1B, NOTCH4, and MHC class II genes (HLA-DRB1/HLA-DRB5) in Native American tumors, and broader CNV alterations in White tumors. Integrative analyses highlighted antigen processing/presentation and cell-adhesion pathways, with class II alterations in Native American tumors and class I gains (e.g., HLA-A/HLA-B) plus CD274 amplification in White tumors, suggesting differences in immune visibility and checkpoint modulation. We also noted contrasts in nucleotide-excision-repair involvement (ERCC5/POLE mutations vs ERCC1/CUL4A CNV gains), and mutational-signature analysis indicated greater MMR- and AID/POLE-associated exposures in the White cohort. To our knowledge, this study provides an initial multi-omics characterization of breast tumors from Native American women and offers a resource and hypotheses for larger, harmonized studies to assess prognostic and therapeutic relevance.