On December 9, 2021 Agendia, Inc., a world leader in precision oncology for breast cancer, reported that data from a research collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center demonstrating the capability of MammaPrint and BluePrint to identify differences in recurrence risk and tumor classification amongst different racial groups at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS 2021) (Press release, Agendia, DEC 9, 2021, View Source;Breast-Cancers-in-Black-and-White-Women-Beyond-Clinical-Factors [SID1234596702]).

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The presentation, titled MammaPrint and BluePrint identify genomic differences in HR+ HER2- breast cancers from young Black and White women, highlights new data signaling that among young women (­<50 years of age) with localized hormone receptor positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer, MammaPrint and BluePrint identified racial disparities in risk of recurrence and breast cancer subtype distribution not detected by existing clinical factors.

The analysis included 186 Black women and 186 White women under the age of 50 with stage I-III HR+ HER2- breast cancer, matched by age, tumor stage, nodal status and receptor status. Of these patients, Black women were significantly more likely to present as a MammaPrint High Risk 2, and in general had more High Risk tumors compared to White women – who were more likely to have Low Risk tumors, including more MammaPrint UltraLow Risk tumors – despite matching for clinical and pathologic features.

Additionally, the data demonstrated that estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) tumors reclassified by BluePrint as Basal-type occur at a higher frequency in Black women compared to White women. Basal-type tumors often have worse outcomes compared to ER+, so it is essential to identify this reclassification in Black women to understand the tumor’s biology and ultimately provide better, personalized care. These data underscore the importance of MammaPrint Risk assessment and BluePrint subtyping for providing greater precision in the prediction of risk of recurrence and the selection of therapy.

"It is crucial to identify the genomic differences among young women with breast cancer that may be contributing to racial/ethnic survival disparities, especially given that Black women are more than 40% more likely to die from breast cancer compared to White women," said Sonya Reid, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "These data demonstrate the promise of personalized medicine to advance our understanding of racial differences on a genomic level to improve breast cancer outcomes across all racial and ethnic groups."

Agendia previously presented data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2021 which also highlighted the importance of genomic insights that are representative of and effective for diverse patient groups, to better understand and begin to solve for disparities in outcomes.

"Black women continue to remain underrepresented in clinical trials, and this study signifies an important step in measuring the clinical and genomic differences of breast cancers in Black women, which will help to redefine the standard of care and guide treatment planning," said William Audeh, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Agendia and a study author. "These results provide novel insights about differences in tumor biology; MammaPrint and BluePrint have tremendous potential to add to our understanding of the causes of disparities in survival associated with race, and will help guide therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Reid and her colleagues at Vanderbilt in this important research."

Agendia is dedicated to gathering data that has translational potential as well as immediate clinical impact for diverse patient populations. Providing novel insights about tumor biological differences and adding to the body of evidence of genomic profiling of breast cancer based on genetic ancestry is critical to improving patient outcomes. These data underscore the company’s mission to help guide the diagnosis and personalized treatment of breast cancer for all patients throughout their treatment journey.