Anie Hannah Ng Ayettey, Rotimi Solomon O, Fernandez Pedro, Rodrigues Belmira, Fatiregun Omolara Aminat, Lasebikan Nwamaka, Wilson Skye, Osman Khatija, Nyoni Lavender, Newman Lisa, Odedina Folakemi T
National Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Centre, Guggisberg Avenue, PO Box KB 319, Korlebu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana, West Africa.
Department of Biochemistry, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria.
Ecancermedicalscience. 2021 Jun 21;15:1253. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2021.1253. eCollection 2021.
The rapidly rising cancer burden and mortality rate in Africa are in contrast to the increase in cancer survivorship in Europe and North America. Genomic medicine has contributed to the rise in survival and has facilitated precision cancer control. However, there is a shortage of African representation in genomic databases, even for cancers that disproportionately affect Africans. To improve this outlook and address research in genomics and genetics relevant to Africa and people of African descent, the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), under the Research Committee's auspices, organised the Cancer Genomic Conference. The conference aimed to develop a roadmap for cancer genomics research to control the continent's increasing cancer burden. Presentations at the conference revealed that: (1) Africa is made up of a highly heterogeneous group of people with diverse ethnic groups, (2) Very few African countries have been the focus of cancer genomics research, (3) Cancer exacts a heavy burden on global populations across the African diaspora with obvious genetic variants and cancer disparities and (4) There are differences in the contribution of genetics by race or ancestry and these differences are likely due to evolutionary genetics, contextual factors and genomic architecture. The importance of data security, ethics and integrity of the African genomics data was emphasised. The implementation of the conference highlights will provide the bedrock for pharmacogenomics to guide treatment decisions for cancer in Africa. The conference concluded with the formation of an AORTIC Special Interest Group on cancer genomics. It is the goal of this group to drive the implementation of this Conference's outcomes.
非洲迅速上升的癌症负担和死亡率与欧洲和北美的癌症生存率上升形成对比。基因组医学推动了生存率的提高，并促进了精准癌症控制。然而，即使是对非洲人影响尤为严重的癌症，非洲人在基因组数据库中的代表性也不足。为了改善这种状况，并开展与非洲及非洲裔人群相关的基因组学和遗传学研究，非洲癌症研究与培训组织（AORTIC）在研究委员会的主持下，组织了癌症基因组会议。该会议旨在制定癌症基因组学研究路线图，以控制非洲大陆日益加重的癌症负担。会议上的发言表明：（1）非洲由众多民族构成的高度异质群体组成；（2）极少有非洲国家成为癌症基因组学研究的重点；（3）癌症给散居在全球的非洲人群带来沉重负担，存在明显的基因变异和癌症差异；（4）种族或血统在遗传学贡献方面存在差异，这些差异可能归因于进化遗传学、环境因素和基因组结构。会议强调了非洲基因组数据的数据安全、伦理和完整性的重要性。会议要点的实施将为药物基因组学奠定基础，以指导非洲癌症治疗决策。会议最后成立了AORTIC癌症基因组学特别兴趣小组。该小组的目标是推动本次会议成果的实施。
