Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of Nucleic Acids Research, gkae1003. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae1003 Dr. Xinyi Shen et al.
Points
- The OncoSexome database addresses sex-based differences in cancer treatment, cataloging disparities in drug responses, biomarkers, risk factors, and microbial influences to enable personalized precision oncology.
- It includes data on 2,051 antineoplastic drugs, 12,551 sex-differential biomarkers, 350 sex-dependent risk factors, and 1,386 microbes associated with sex-differentiated cancer progression.
- Clinical trials have largely overlooked sex differences, though evidence shows significant disparities in drug toxicity and efficacy between males and females, highlighting the database’s importance.
- OncoSexome’s user-friendly interface aids clinicians and researchers in understanding sex-based disparities to create more personalized and effective cancer treatments.
- As new findings emerge, OncoSexome will expand, reinforcing the need to integrate sex differences into cancer research and care for improved therapeutic outcomes.
Summary
The OncoSexome database, developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and School of Medicine, aims to address a critical gap in precision oncology by documenting sex-based differences in cancer treatment efficacy, biomarkers, risk factors, and microbial influences. The database encompasses four key areas: sex-differential antineoplastic drug responses (SDR), oncology-related biomarkers (SBM), risk factors (SRF), and microbial landscape (SML). SDR includes information on 2,051 anticancer drugs, while SBM catalogs 12,551 sex-differential biomarkers. SRF outlines 350 sex-dependent risk factors, and SML provides data on 1,386 microbes with sex-differential abundances associated with cancer development. OncoSexome compiles these diverse data points to facilitate more personalized and effective cancer treatments by acknowledging how biological sex affects cancer progression and therapeutic outcomes.
The creation of OncoSexome follows growing evidence that sex-based disparities are prevalent in cancer treatment outcomes. Historically, clinical trials have overlooked sex differences despite studies indicating that drugs may have significantly different effects on males and females. For example, a National Cancer Institute study found that only 0.5% of oncology clinical trials included sex-based post-treatment comparisons. However, such studies revealed important differences in therapeutic responses, such as higher toxicity in females receiving fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for colon cancer. OncoSexome’s detailed catalog and its user-friendly interface provide an essential resource for clinicians and researchers to explore these sex-based disparities and incorporate them into more effective, personalized treatment strategies.
OncoSexome represents a step forward in sex-aware cancer research and clinical practice, offering a comprehensive, evidence-based framework to guide precision oncology. The database’s ongoing development will continuously incorporate new findings, contributing to a growing body of sex-differentiated knowledge essential for improving cancer care. By integrating internal and external contributors to cancer, such as biomarkers and the microbiome, OncoSexome highlights the importance of considering sex differences in research and clinical settings to enhance patient outcomes and inform future therapeutic approaches.
Link to the article: https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkae1003/7899531
References Shen, X., Zhang, Y., Li, J., Zhou, Y., Butensky, S. D., Zhang, Y., Cai, Z., DeWan, A. T., Khan, S. A., Yan, H., Johnson, C. H., & Zhu, F. (2024). OncoSexome: The landscape of sex-based differences in oncologic diseases. Nucleic Acids Research, gkae1003. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae1003
