Molecular Determinants of Esophageal Cancer in Tanzania

We describe the genomic profiles of 61 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases from Tanzania and compare them to profiles from an existing cohort of ESCC cases from Malawi. We also provide a comparison to ESCC tumors in The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA). Despite a high burden of ESCC in Eastern Africa, investigations into the genomics in this region are nascent. This represents the largest comprehensive genomic analysis of ESCC from sub-Saharan Africa to date. We observed substantial transcriptional overlap with other squamous histologies via comparison with TCGA PanCan dataset. DNA analysis revealed known mutational patterns, both genome-wide as well as in genes known to be commonly mutated in ESCC. TP53 mutations were the most common somatic mutation in tumors from both... (for more see dbGaP study page.)