Comprehensive Characterization of Molecular Differences in Cancer between Male and Female Patients

Yuan Yuan; Lingxiang Liu; Hu Chen; Yumeng Wang; Yanxun Xu; Huzhang Mao; Jun Li; Gordon B Mills; Yongqian Shu; Liang Li; Han Liang

doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2016.04.001

Comprehensive Characterization of Molecular Differences in Cancer between Male and Female Patients

Cancer Cell. 2016 May 9;29(5):711-722. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2016.04.001.

Authors

Yuan Yuan¹, Lingxiang Liu², Hu Chen³, Yumeng Wang³, Yanxun Xu⁴, Huzhang Mao⁵, Jun Li¹, Gordon B Mills⁶, Yongqian Shu⁷, Liang Li⁸, Han Liang⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
² Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
³ Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Graduate Program in Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁴ Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁶ Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁷ Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
⁸ Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁹ Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Graduate Program in Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Electronic address: hliang1@mdanderson.org.

Abstract

An individual's sex has been long recognized as a key factor affecting cancer incidence, prognosis, and treatment responses. However, the molecular basis for sex disparities in cancer remains poorly understood. We performed a comprehensive analysis of molecular differences between male and female patients in 13 cancer types of The Cancer Genome Atlas and revealed two sex-effect groups associated with distinct incidence and mortality profiles. One group contains a small number of sex-affected genes, whereas the other shows much more extensive sex-biased molecular signatures. Importantly, 53% of clinically actionable genes (60/114) show sex-biased signatures. Our study provides a systematic molecular-level understanding of sex effects in diverse cancers and suggests a pressing need to develop sex-specific therapeutic strategies in certain cancer types.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

DNA Copy Number Variations
DNA Methylation
Female
Gene Expression Profiling / methods
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
Genome, Human / genetics*
Genomics / methods*
Humans
Male
MicroRNAs / genetics
Mutation
Neoplasms / classification
Neoplasms / genetics*
Neoplasms / metabolism*
Proteomics / methods*
Sex Factors

Substances

MicroRNAs

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding