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Approved Research

Genetic and non-genetic factor associated with cancer and other chronic diseases across racial/ethnic populations

Principal Investigator: Professor Loic Le Marchand
Approved Research ID: 16447
Approval date: May 19th 2021

Lay summary

We will compare results from relationships that we have found between genetic and non-genetic factors and cancer outcomes in the multiethnic cohort (MEC) study to results for these same relationships in the UK Biobank.  For example, we will first compare genetic relationships that we found for liver fat and pancreas fat in the MEC study to results for these same relationships in the UK Biobank.  Other comparison analyses will focus on genetic and non-genetic relationships found in the urogenital, digestive, endocrine, muscular, and nervous systems.  In some cases, we will also combine subjects from the UK biobank with subjects from the MEC study in order to study a larger population, which will give more accurate results.  Many times our findings are unique because of the particular composition of our study cohort (white, Native Hawaiian. Japanese American, African American, and Latino subjects).  However, the large number of subjects from the UK Biobank will allow us to compare our results to another cohort in several of these populations, and for less common diseases, the additional UK biobank subjects will allow us to have sufficient subjects to examine genetic and non-genetic factors in our distinct populations. 

We anticipate that it will take us 48 months to carry out the goals of our research project.  We hope that our new biological understanding of cancer will eventually have public health impact for prevention, genetic counseling and possibly drug development.