# Genomics of HCC in the Hispanic population of Texas

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 2020 · $360,685

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The incidence and mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rapidly increasing in the United States,
with the highest rates found among Hispanics in South Texas. We reported that the prevalence of cirrhosis, the
main risk factor for HCC, in Hispanics in South Texas is 4-times higher than the national average and identified
central obesity and diabetes as the main risk factors. The role of obesity and diabetes in liver cirrhosis in
Hispanics in South Texas likely contributes to the high prevalence of HCC associated with non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis (NASH) in this population. The burden of NASH in this population is more substantial than
predicted, affecting close to 20% of the population including children. To address the magnitude of this growing
health-disparity problem, it is critically important to identify those at high risk for HCC who would benefit from
surveillance and prevention strategies. HCC is a genetically heterogeneous disease and specific somatic
mutations profiles are associated with different etiologies. Hispanic ethnicity and NASH etiology are critically
underrepresented in HCC genomic studies. Therefore, there is a need for molecular characterization of NASH-
associated HCC in Hispanics, to identify opportunities for biomarker and targeted therapy development.
Because HCC somatic mutations have been detected in circulating cell free DNA (cfDNA) in patients with HCC
but also in patients with pre-HCC conditions such as cirrhosis, one such opportunity is the detection in cfDNA,
of selected somatic mutations for HCC risk assessment and early detection. We hypothesize that the tumor
genomic landscape of HCC in Hispanics in South Texas is representative of the underlying liver diseases and
environmental factors affecting this population and that selected HCC somatic mutations can be detected in
plasma cfDNA at early HCC stage or prior to diagnosis and could therefore have utility in HCC risk assessment
and early detection. In Aim 1, we will determine the tumor genomic landscape of NASH-associated HCC in
Hispanics in South Texas and identify (if any) unique features of HCC in this population. In Aim 2, we will
custom-design a targeted sequencing panel to detect with high sensitivity the most common HCC somatic
mutations identified in Aim 1, in plasma cfDNA of patients with NASH-associated HCC. In Aim 3, we will
determine the utility of the mutation-based model identified in Aim 2 and applied to cfDNA, in HCC risk
prediction in Hispanics in South Texas using two large population-based Hispanic cohorts. This project is
supported by extensive preliminary data, unique resources and a strong multidisciplinary research team. It will
represent the largest genomic study of HCC associated with NASH, diabetes and obesity in an underserved
population particularly affected by these chronic diseases. The project impact and translational goals are: 1)
to serve the Hispanic population in South Texas, a population with hea...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9878667
- **Project number:** 5R01CA204665-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** LAURA BERETTA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $360,685
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9878667

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9878667, Genomics of HCC in the Hispanic population of Texas (5R01CA204665-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9878667. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*