The story unites high-resolution genomic profiling with social epidemiology, survivorship technology, and immunotherapy advances to reduce cancer disparities and improve patient outcomes, underscoring the need for diverse datasets and interdisciplinary approaches in oncology.

It highlights ancestry-related genomic differences, the impact of social determinants on cancer risk, the use of patient-reported outcomes to enhance survivorship care, and combining immunotherapies to overcome treatment resistance in lymphomas.

HN-STAR, a web-based survivorship tool for head-and-neck cancer patients, prompts survivors to report concerns before follow-up visits and, in a national trial with over 340 participants across 28 practices, led to 33% more concerns discussed and a 14% overall increase in concern-focused dialogue.

The tool’s use in a multicenter trial increased the rate at which symptom-related concerns are addressed during clinics, advancing patient-centered survivorship care.

In follicular lymphoma, adding epcoritamab to rituximab and lenalidomide proved safe and highly effective, with durable responses in 108 adults and about three-quarters in remission two years later, despite cytopenias and cytokine release syndrome not prompting discontinuation.

A phase 1b/2 MSK trial of epcoritamab with rituximab and lenalidomide achieved an overall response rate near 100%, around 90% complete remission, and 75% durable remission at two years, with manageable safety and no discontinuations due to adverse events.

A multicenter study found that social adversity correlates with higher triple-negative breast cancer incidence among Black women, with analysis of over 13,000 TNBC cases (2010–2020) suggesting stress-related genetic or epigenomic effects as modifiable risk factors.

Using the Yost Index to measure neighborhood socioeconomic status, the analysis shows adverse environments closely linked to higher TNBC incidence, implying socioeconomic context can influence cancer risk through biological pathways.

MSK researchers mapped 447 gene signatures across 116 cancer-related genes using data from more than 275,000 patients, revealing ancestry-specific patterns and fewer driver alterations in renal cell carcinoma among those of African descent and in lung squamous cell carcinoma and glioblastoma among East Asian patients.

The study analyzed tumor genetics from a vast, multi-ancestry cohort spanning 14 cancer types and classified ancestry into African, admixed American, East Asian, European, and South Asian groups, highlighting the need for more diverse datasets in precision oncology.

Overall, the work emphasizes the imperative to expand diverse genomic datasets to better understand ancestry-related cancer biology and to guide equitable precision medicine.

MSK’s commitment to diversity in genetics, social determinants of health, and innovative therapies aims to advance equitable cancer care and survival outcomes on a global scale.

The reporting underscores MSK’s leadership in personalized oncology and survivorship improvements, with references to Nature Genetics, JAMA Network Open, JCO Oncology Practice, and Blood.