Malaysia proudly home to largest genetic database of Asian breast cancers

Cancer Research Malaysia (CRM), in collaboration with University of Cambridge and Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) has assembled the largest genetic and genomic database of Asian breast cancers.

Previously, most of the characterized genomes used in breast cancer research come from Caucasian women. Only less than 5 percent come from Asians, even though Asians form more than half of the world's population. The genome is the sum total of the DNA of an organism.

The database is the result of a study led by Professor Datin Paduka Dr Teo Soo Hwang, OBE, Chief Scientific Officer, CRM, in collaboration with Professor Carlos Caldas and Dr Suet-Feung Chin, of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge; Professor Pathmanathan Rajadurai and Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Yip Cheng Har, of SJMC.

Teo said: “Genomic information enables us to be more precise in diagnosis, as well as choosing the right treatment for the right patient. It is critical for us to close the gap in Asian genomic research, otherwise we may miss important genetic information that may be rare in Caucasians, but common in Asians. Through our study, we discovered that Asians are at higher risk of an aggressive type of breast cancer, are more likely to have a mutated TP53 gene, and have an enriched immune tumour profile. Our publication opens the door to improving precision medicine for Asian breast cancer patients.”

Published in Nature Communications,  the study analyzed genomic sequences of 560 breast cancer tumour samples, and the aggressive subtype expressing the HER2 protein was found to be more prevalent in Asian women compared to Caucasians. [Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20173-5 Accessed on 27 January 2021.]

“The HER2 subtype of breast cancer is one of the most aggressive, and it is becoming clear that the risk factors may be different from other types of breast cancer. Our study highlights that Asians have a higher risk of this type of aggressive disease and underscores the need to do more research in Asians so that we can save more lives,” said Yip.

Additionally, the study found that the TP53 gene is more commonly altered in Asian breast cancers compared with those found in Caucasians. TP53 is also known as the ‘guardian of the genome’ as it protects cells from turning cancerous, thus any alteration results in the dysfunction of the gene.

The study’s first author and CRM’s deputy head of Bioinformatics Dr Pan Jia Wern said they also observed that Asian breast cancers are more likely to have immune cells present, which suggested that if a method of removing the ‘invisibility cloak’ that cancers have to evade detection by the immune system was discovered, then it may help to improve survival for Asian breast cancer patients.

The genomics map generated by this study has already yielded new views on the treatment of breast cancers among Asians. For example, a new clinical trial to test immunotherapy in Asian breast cancer patients has already started in July 2020, led by CRM, in partnership with oncologists at Universiti Malaya and National University Hospital Singapore. However, study authors said more can and should be done.