Approved Research

Identification, Characterisation and Structural Elucidation of Significant Exome Variations in Cancers of Digestive System in Asians

Lay summary

Cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract account for more than one-quarter of the global cancer incidence and over one-third of all cancer-related deaths. Previous studies demonstrated that those of Asian ancestry have some genetic predisposition to develop cancers of the digestive system, e.g., gastric cancer. Although there are advancements in molecular analysis in cancers of the digestive system, there is still limited understanding of the molecular pathogenesis specific to the Asian population. The extensive whole exome sequencing (WES) data of such a large number of participants in the UK Biobank allows this study to answer the study objectives: 1. To identify and elucidate genetic variant(s) in cancers of the digestive system between two ancestral populations (Europeans versus Asians). 2. To better understand the molecular pathogenesis of cancers in the digestive system in the Asian population. The study will be conducted over three years. This study will be able to answer the current knowledge gap in explaining the genetic variants in GI cancers unique to two ancestral populations of interest (Europeans versus Asians). Molecular structural elucidation of the significant genetic variants will contribute to the knowledge of drug treatments and potentially identify novel druggable target(s).