Cancer incidence and mortality rates can vary widely among different racial and ethnic groups, attributed to a complex interplay of genetic, environmental and social factors. Recently, substantial progress has been made in investigating hereditary genetic risk factors and in characterizing tumour genomes. However, most research has been conducted in individuals of European ancestries and, increasingly, in individuals of Asian ancestries. The study of germline and somatic genetics in cancer across racial and ethnic groups using omics technologies offers opportunities to identify similarities and differences in both heritable traits and the molecular features of cancer genomes. An improved understanding of population-specific cancer genomics, as well as translation of those findings across populations, will help reduce cancer disparities and ensure that personalized medicine and public health approaches are equitable across racial and ethnic groups.

癌症发病率和死亡率在不同种族和民族群体之间差异很大，这归因于遗传、环境和社会因素的复杂相互作用。最近，在研究遗传遗传风险因素和表征肿瘤基因组方面取得了重大进展。然而，大多数研究都是在欧洲血统的个体中进行的，而且越来越多地是在亚洲血统的个体中进行的。使用组学技术对不同种族和族裔群体的癌症种系和体细胞遗传学进行研究，为确定癌症基因组的遗传性状和分子特征的相似性和差异性提供了机会。更好地了解人群特异性癌症基因组学，以及将这些发现跨人群转化，将有助于减少癌症差异，并确保个性化医疗和公共卫生方法在种族和民族群体之间是公平的。