Ancestry, race, and environment in cancer risk and outcomes
Project 2: Integrating race, ethnicity, and genomic ancestry across GENIE to understand genetic and environmental contributions to pan-cancer risk, prognosis, and outcomes
This project looks at how genetic ancestry, race, and environmental factors relate to cancer risk, tumor biology, and outcomes across many cancer types.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11181553 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or someone you care for has cancer, this project combines tumor genetic data and clinical records from many patients to explore links between self-identified race, genomic ancestry, and cancer outcomes. Researchers will use the AACR GENIE database and other large genomic resources to compare mutation patterns, copy number changes, and other tumor features across ancestry groups. They will relate those molecular patterns to prognosis and treatment outcomes to help explain disparities. The work relies on existing patient samples and computational analyses rather than testing new treatments on participants.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with cancer whose tumor sequencing and clinical outcome data are or could be contributed to large genomic databases like GENIE.
Not a fit: People without available tumor genomic or outcome data, or those seeking an immediate new therapy, are unlikely to receive direct personal benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could reveal ancestry-related biological markers and environmental contributors to disparities that inform fairer, more effective cancer care and follow-up.
How similar studies have performed: Prior pan-cancer analyses such as TCGA have identified ancestry-associated molecular differences but had limited non-European representation, so this work extends known findings to more diverse groups.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Jian — Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Jian
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.