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. 2019 Feb 18;10(2):153. doi: 10.3390/genes10020153

Table 2.

Breast cancer genetic epidemiology in women of Latin American origin: Current limitations and possible solutions.

Current Limitations Possible Solutions
Diverse genetic backgrounds and mutational frequencies among Latin American populations.
  • Foster collaborations between Latin American countries.

  • Account and stratify for ancestry proportions.

Small sample size in comparison with studies including European and European American individuals.
  • Promote access and exchange of information among researches to establish research partnerships within and across countries to generate large consortiums for joint data analysis.

  • Homogenize the design and data processing of studies from different countries to facilitate data sharing and sample pooling.

  • Extension of National Cancer Registries and quality improvement, including biospecimen collection.

Limited access to high-cost technologies for variant discovery in multiple Latin American countries.
  • Promote collaborative relationships with specialized multicenter initiatives to reduce costs and assure quality control.

  • Promote collaborations that allow Latin American countries to access technologies in the United States and other countries (e.g., European countries, Australia, Japan, etc.) with appropriate data sharing protocols that allow analyses to be conducted by scientists in Latin America.

Inequality in access to healthcare by genetic ancestry might limit the representation of highly Indigenous American women in genetic studies.
  • Foster active role of public hospitals in patient accrual.

  • Decentralization of institutions in charge of patient/individual accrual.