Studies have shown that Asian Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage thyroid cancer than other ethnic groups. Among Asian Americans, Filipino Americans (FA) have the highest thyroid cancer mortality rate compared to different subgroups. FA are known to be three times more likely to die of thyroid cancer than European Americans (EA). African American (AA) and Hispanic American (HA) patients have the worst cancer-specific survival rate compared to EA patients. Epidemiological studies in California have shown that thyroid cancer is the second most common cancer among Filipino American women (1). Although socioeconomic factors play a crucial role in cancer health disparities, thyroid cancer is an exception, where educated FA showed higher incidence/recurrence rates (2). Currently, no studies demonstrate the biological mechanism behind these discrepancies. We are the first to show differential expressions of a tumor suppressor gene (1) and miRNA profiles between FA versus EA (2). We have discovered a new oncogene, PDLIM7, also known as Enigma, with a stage-dependent enhancement in thyroid cancer tissues (3). Our Hiseq-miRNA profiling data showed significant downregulations of one of the well-known tumor suppressor miRNAs, Let-7 family genes. Some of the let-7 family genes are significantly downregulated in FA versus EA (2). Let-7 genes are known to regulate PDLIM family genes. Therefore, we hypothesize that the inverse correlation between PDLIM7 oncogene and Let-7 family genes is linked to advanced thyroid cancer in FA compared to all other ethnicities. In this study, we have expanded our patient cohorts by adding samples from AA and HA to our existing patient cohorts of EA and FA. We determined the differential PDLIM7 gene expression in different ethnic groups using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) thyroid cancer datasets by UALCAN assay. We also confirmed the PDLIM7 gene and let-7 family expressions by RT-qPCR in different ethnic groups and correlated them to thyroid cancer staging. We found a significantly overexpressed PDLIM7 gene in FA with advanced-stage compared to EA/HA/AA. Among others, PDLIM7 did not show any significant difference. A higher expression of the PDLIM7 gene (*p<0.05) was significantly correlated to let-7 gene downregulation (**p<0.01) in FA patient samples. Our data suggest that an inverse relationship between PDLIM7 and the let-7 gene family in FA correlates to advanced thyroid cancer. Some specific members of let-7 family genes/miRNA-clusters may differentially regulate the PDLIM7 gene in different ethnicities. A future study is underway to reveal the functional regulation of the PDLIM7 gene by specific let-7 family genes. One of the future treatment strategies is to overexpress let-7 family genes by let-7 gene mimics or develop small molecule inhibitors for the PDLIM7 gene and determine the impact on cell death and cell cycle progression both in vitro and in vivo. Citation Format: Jaibir S. Pannu, Kristiana Rood, Celina R. Yamauchi, Alfred A. Simental, Mia C. Perez, Anthony Firek, Salma Khan. Inverse correlations between PDLIM7 and let-7 family gene expressions in advanced thyroid cancer tissues from specific racial/ethnic groups [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr C061.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common, chronic, sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of partial and complete airway obstructions during sleep with repetitive apneas and hypopneas as a result. Common symptoms of OSA include snoring, nocturnal choking or gasping, excessive daytime sleepiness, nonrefreshing sleep, fatigue, nocturia, morning headache, and cognitive impairment. Snoring has the most sensitivity(82.6%) while nocturnal choking or gasping is the most specific (84%) Undiagnosed and untreated OSA attributed to hypertension (30%-70% of OSA patients), heart failure (140% rise in risk), CAD (30% rise in the risk of blockage), and stroke (60% rise in risk). Other long-term health consequences include diabetes, memory loss (including Alzheimer’s), depression, and other psychiatric conditions. Depending on the broad or stringent definition of OSA based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the prevalence of the condition in North America can range from 20-30% or 15% in males, and 10-15% or 5% in females. Asians and Indians have been found to have similar OSA severity, despite lower rates of obesity. However, research conducted among South Asians in the UK shows a higher prevalence of OSA than white Europeans. Limited research is done on OSA among South Asians in the US, particularly in the Bangladeshi community. The proportion of the population showing a high risk for the disease noticeably increases from 46 years onward. Male gender was found to be the major risk factor determining whether the subjects are at high, intermediate, or low risk. This conforms with other studies done previously. Although the study shows 30% of the population posing an increased risk for OSA, the outcome may be the same, lower, or higher after polysomnography. The author recommends a broader study with a follow-up of the intermediate and high-risk groups with an appropriate sleep study. Based on the preliminary findings, questions regarding OSA should be incorporated into routine health evaluations. Suspicion of OSA should trigger a comprehensive sleep evaluation. Steps should be taken to increase awareness at the community level to improve compliance with annual physicals and reduce risk behaviors.

According to WHO, obesity, a global pandemic, is an important cause of cancer. Obesity-induced adipose tissue expansion is associated with infiltration of immune cells which causessecretion of adipokines, chemokines, cytokines like IL-1,2,6,8, TNF-α, etc. The purpose of thisstudy is to provide a comprehensive review of the effects of obesity-induced inflammatorycytokines on breast cancer while discussing available therapeutics & chemotherapy in thetreatment of breast cancer. We discussed the identification of inflammatory biomarkers releasedby adipose tissue, and alterations in their pathway in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Our studyhelps in improving diagnostic accuracy, identifying targets of therapy, and suggesting usefullifestyle behaviors for this aspect. We conducted our research in PubMed to identify relevantjournal articles published within the last 10 years. We extracted pertinent data and discussedmajor signaling pathways regulated by inflammatory cytokines and adipokines in mediatingbreast cancer. Obesity involves different changes that may contribute to the development ofbreast cancer, such as excess inflammatory cytokines and chronic inflammation,hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and raised leptin and estrogens. It leads to a low-gradechronic inflammatory state in the body, which leads to increased estrogen and aromatase,increased growth proliferation, and angiogenesis. All of these contribute to the development ofbreast cancer, mostly ductal breast cancer and ER-positive breast cancer. Leptin antagonist,Adiponectin agonists, aromatase inhibitors, and lipid-lowering drugs have shown favorable resultsin the treatment of breast cancer. Metformin inhibits the IL-6 mRNA expression and activatesthe IL-1R expression which acts as an anti-inflammatory cytokine. In breast cancer cells,Metformin interferes with mTOR pathway signaling and decreases the expression of HER-2protein. Weight loss with exercise and reduced calorie intake reduces the risk of breast cancer inboth premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Early detection using “biomarkers” shows apromising improvement in the survival rate.