CLL In Patients Of African Ancestry Demonstrated Distinct Genomic, Transcriptomic Features When Compared To CLL In Patients Of European Ancestry, Study Finds

Rare Disease Advisor (2/18, Garlapow) reports, “Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in patients of African ancestry demonstrated distinct genomic and transcriptomic features when compared to CLL in patients of European ancestry, with significant implications for progression of disease and treatment strategies, according to a study.” Investigators found “that patients of African ancestry with CLL harbored a higher prevalence of alterations in key driver genes, including NOTCH1 (29%), TP53 (17%), and NFKBIE (17%), compared to their counterparts of European ancestry.” Additionally, “African ancestry CLL exhibited an increased number of mutated genes per patient...relative to European ancestry CLL...reinforcing the concept of greater mutational burden in this population.” The findings were published in Blood Cancer Journal.