Dr Ricardo Pinto discusses a study using publicly available multi-omics data from international cancer cell line projects to investigate the molecular biology of triple-negative breast cancer in women of sub-Saharan African ancestry. By integrating multiple layers of omics data and applying statistical linear models, the study compared genetic essentiality and drug sensitivity between sub-Saharan African and European triple-negative breast cancer cell lines.

The analysis identified the gene BLM as more essential in sub-Saharan African backgrounds and highlighted DNA repair, ubiquitination, and navigation pathways as particularly important. Drug sensitivity analysis showed greater sensitivity of sub-Saharan African cell lines to a small-molecule inhibitor targeting the navigation cascade. The work demonstrates the discovery potential of inclusive, open-access omics research.