TP53-Mutated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer and Airborne Pollutants
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2021
According to a logistic regression-based study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the odds of having a TP53-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are significantly increased in communities with elevated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels. Stacy W. Gray, MD, of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center (COH), California, and colleagues noted that this research was the first U.S.-based effort to account for the effects of neighborhood social determinants and individual patient data on NSCLC biology.
“We found that PM2.5 exposure in our population varied and was associated with demographic and neighborhood social characteristics,” the authors commented. “We also found an association between air pollution before the time of diagnosis and TP53-mutated NSCLC.”
The retrospective cohort consisted of 478 patients with NSCLC (mean age, 67 years), all of whom were treated at COH between 2015 and 2018. A total of 70% of patients had stage IV disease, and 85% had adenocarcinoma. There was a total of 344 TP53-mutation variants discovered across 277 of the 478 patients (58%). Of the mutations, 23% were local to pathogenic TP53 hotspot residues, with many residing at amino acid site R273. It was also apparent that 40% of mutations were detected to be known or likely loss-of-function mutations. Additionally, 43% of patients lived in communities with moderate PM2.5 levels as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency.
It was discovered that TP53 mutations were strongly linked to higher PM2.5 exposure, with PM2.5-moderate communities making up a bigger proportion of patients with these mutations (45%) than without (39%). Even after the investigators adjusted for sociodemographic, environmental, and individual patient factors, this association remained present (odds ratio = 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–2.72). The authors remarked that this connection may warrant reconsideration of current PM2.5 classifications.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit cebp.aacrjournals.org.
