Abstract C103: Non-enzymatic glycoxidation reports on society, environment and biology to inform on enduring cancer disparities

Abstract

Abstract Disparities in overall cancer outcomes have been reduced across racial and ethnic divides, but still persist for some tumor types and have increased for others. This has stimulated significant debate regarding whether the enduring nature of cancer disparities arises solely out of inherent failings in addressing health inequities, or does an individual’s inherent biology also play an accompanying role. As a newly termed “bio-social determinant of health”, non-enzymatic glycoxidation profiles may represent an unexploited opportunity to consider how health inequity constructs combine to impact cancer outcomes across transdisciplinary studies. Resulting from the combined processes of glycation and oxidation, non-enzymatic glycoxidation is a complex series of reactions, leading to the irreversible posttranslational modification of peptides, lipids and nucleic acids by Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). Evidence is presented to support that health inequity constructs can serve to provide a superfluous source of the reactive substrates that sustains non-enzymatic glycoxidation resulting in a chronic cycle of AGE formation, bioavailability, and pathogenicity. AGEs are significant because: 1. Communities who bear the highest cancer burden are more likely to be exposed to health inequity risk factors that serve to increase AGE bioavailability 2. When health equity is compromised complex relationships are created between social and biological determinates of health that serve to overwhelm the fragile rheostat that maintains AGE homeostasis.; and 3. Increases in AGE bioavailability are associated with increased tumor growth and progression through their impact on the tumor microenvironment. Glycoxidation patterns visualized by AGE accumulation and pathogenic function may serve as a “bio-social determinant of health” as they may reflect the dynamic and varied nature of multiple health inequity constructs and their combined effects on cancer incidence and mortality. In turn this may allow a greater understanding of the complex relationships that exist between societal, ancestral, environmental, and biological constructs, and lifestyle associated risk factors associated with enduring cancer disparities. This would provide significant insight on novel cancer prevention and control strategies aimed at reducing AGE exposure due to health inequity. Citation Format: David P. Turner. Non-enzymatic glycoxidation reports on society, environment and biology to inform on enduring cancer disparities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr C103.