Browsing by Author "Torres, Jennifer"
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Item FOXA1 genetic alterations in Whites versus Blacks/African Americans in Breast and Prostate Cancer(2019) Torres, JenniferForkhead box A1 (FOXA1) is a pioneer factor for the nuclear hormone receptors: estrogen receptor and androgen receptor. FOXA1 plays a major role inducing endocrine resistance in breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC), the two most prevalent cancers in the United States. In this study, we investigated FOXA1 gene alterations across different race and ethnicity using the TCGA PanCan Atlas dataset for BC and PC patients. The BC and PC dataset included 1084 and 494 patient samples, respectively, profiled for copy number alterations (CNA), gene expression, and mutations. In the BC dataset, the incidence of FOXA1 alterations was 16/1070 (1.5%) CNA 24/1082 (2.2%) high mRNA expression, and 31/1066 (2.9%) mutations. Only amplifications were found within the BC patients. In the PC dataset, there were 15/489 (3.1%) CNA, 16/493 (3.2%) high mRNA expression, and 28/494 (5.7%) mutations reported in FOXA1. Deep deletion was found in one of the PC patients while the rest had amplifications. Due to insufficient numbers of Hispanic patients in the datasets, we compared the incidence of various FOXA1 alterations in White vs. Black/AA population using Fisher’s exact test. Only FOXA1 mutation rate was significantly higher (p =0.03) in Blacks/AA (2/7, 28.6%) compared to Whites (5/147, 3.4%) in PC, but not in the BC dataset. Additional studies with larger datasets that include the race and ethnicity information from diverse group of patients as well as tumor molecular subtyping are also needed for the assessment of the mechanism of health disparity in BC and PC in minority population in the United States. This project was completed with contributions from Xiaoyong Fu and Rachel Schiff from Baylor College of Medicine.Item Identifying Factors Associated With Physical Activity In Middle School Minority Girls(2020-12) Torres, JenniferThe obesity epidemic in the United States is an increasing public health concern that is affecting more children every day. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 23.5 million children and adolescents (aged 2-19) are categorized as overweight or obese. Engaging in regular physical activity is critical at a young age to decrease the risk of developing a chronic disease in adulthood. Minority children are disproportionately affected by the obesity epidemic due to behavioral and social factors. However, Hispanic girls have the second highest rate of obesity prevalence among minority girls. During adolescence Hispanic girls experience a decline in physical activity for reasons that have not been fully investigated. In this study, we investigated the differences in weight loss between Hispanic boys (n=36) and Hispanic girls (n=49) in a school-based obesity prevention intervention at YES Prep Charter School. In a randomized control trial, students that identified as Hispanic with a BMI ≥ 95th percentile, were placed in an escalated treatment program (Take CHARGE!). Treatment duration was 3 months and occurred during the participants’ PE class, five days a week for 45 minutes each day. We compared group differences on baseline using T-tests and chi-square. No differences were found between genders with respect to baseline demographic or anthropometric variables. The Hispanic boys demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in their zBMI when compared to girls (F = 6.72, p < .05), although post hoc analyses revealed that both boys and girls significantly reduced their zBMI at 6 months compared to baseline (t = 4.34, p = .001; t = 2.45, p = .032, respectively). This study demonstrates that Hispanic girls experience sex-specific barriers that impedes them from engaging in physical activity. There is a need for health promotion that isn’t only tailored to culture and age, but to gender as well in order to tackle the obesity epidemic.