<p style="text-align:start">Children of Hispanic/Latino origin are 30-40% more likely to get Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) than non-Hispanic white children. However, the exact genetic basis and cause of that increased risk are unknown. Now researchers have revealed a key genetic variant contributing towards the increased risk, as well as details about the biological basis of ALL.&nbsp;The research team focused on the&nbsp;<em>IKZF1&nbsp;</em>gene, known to relate to ALL but never before linked with ethnic risk disparities. Using genetic fine-mapping analysis, they independently analyzed each position along the gene&mdash;known as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)&mdash;to determine whether having a certain variant increased ALL risk. They found three independent SNPs linked to higher ALL incidence, one of which was present in about 30% of people of Hispanic/Latino origin in the U.S. and less than 1%&nbsp;&nbsp;of people of primarily European origin. Although overall risk for the disease is low across all racial/ethnic groups, children with that gene variant, located at SNP rs76880433, were 1.44 times as likely to develop ALL as children without the variant.&nbsp;They also found that the risk variant reduced chromatin accessibility, preventing&nbsp;<em>IKZF1&nbsp;</em>proteins from being fully expressed. In experiments with stem cells, the team found that &ldquo;knocking out&rdquo; the&nbsp;<em>IKZF1&nbsp;</em>gene caused B-cell development to stall in its early stages.</p>

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