Abstract 6583: Genetic characterization of KLRC2 deletion in racially diverse prostate cancer patients

作者：Laila Scroggins, Paula O. Cooper, Stefan DiFazio, Kun-Lin Ho, Sally Elsamanoudi, Jiji Jiang, Shyh‐Han Tan, Ayesha A. Shafi, Cara C. Schafer · 发表于：Cancer Research · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1158/1538-7445.am2026-6583 · 研究领域：Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics、Immune Cell Function and Interaction、Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research

Abstract Natural Killer (NK) cells are key mediators of anti-tumor immunity through direct tumor cell lysis. Emerging evidence suggests significant immune microenvironment differences in prostate tumors between African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) men; however, the contribution of NK cell-associated genes to these disparities remains incompletely understood. The NK cell receptor gene KLRC2 is of particular interest because prior research within our patient cohort demonstrated significantly lower KLRC2 expression in AA prostate tumors compared to CA tumors. Given that germline KLRC2 deletion polymorphisms differ across global populations, including those with East and West African ancestry, investigating its deletion status may provide insight into downstream expression differences and associated immune variation. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of immunobiological differences between AA and CA men with prostate cancer (PCa) by evaluating an NK cell-relevant gene, KLRC2, in racially diverse genomic datasets. We hypothesized that germline deletion may contribute to its variability in downstream expression in tumor tissues and ultimately contribute to observed racial disparities in PCa. Understanding germline deletion variations may provide insight into mechanisms driving tumor immune microenvironment differences and strategies to reduce these disparities in PCa outcomes. We analyzed germline, whole genome sequencing data from a large Center for Prost...