Distribution and Short‐term Prognostic Value of the 21‐gene recurrence score in African American compared to White American breast cancer patients

Abstract

We evaluated 328 patients (34.8% African American [AA]; 65.2% White American [WA]) with hormone receptor‐positive, HER2/neu‐negative breast cancer. Mean age (60 years); mean tumor size (1.6 and 1.7 cm for AA and WA, respectively) were similar, and mean BMI was higher for AA (33 vs 29.8; P = 0.001). Recurrence score (RS) distribution was similar‐ 8.3% AA and 5.9% WA with high RS (≥31). No significant differences were observed in delivery of chemotherapy stratified by score. With median follow‐up 27.2 months for AA and 33.4 months for WA, distant recurrence occurred in 1.0% and 1.6%, respectively (P = 1). Our results suggest comparable RS utility in AA and WA patients.

Distribution, Chemotherapy Use, and Outcome of the 21-Gene Recurrence Score Between Chinese and White breast Cancer in the United States

“…In the current clinical practice, 21-gene RS has been used to determine the chemotherapy used in early-stage BC. The findings by Amro et al showed that no significant differences were found in the chemotherapy use after stratification by RS between WA and AA BC [12]. In this study, we found similar chemotherapy use between WA and Chinese BC after stratification by RS.…”

“…A recent population-based study has shown no significant difference between race and high RS in BC patients aged ≥65 years [16]. The median age of diagnosis was similar between AA and WA BC patients (58-59 years) [12,13], while Chinese patients were much younger (53 years) in our study. We found a similar distribution of RS between WA and Chinese BC.…”

“…Several studies have tried to answer the question regarding the distribution and prognostic effect of RS in BC among the different races. However, most of them were included the WA and AA patients, and the results showed that AA had a higher rate of high RS (8.3-15.8%) compared to those with WA (5.9-7.1%) [12][13][14]. A recent population-based study has shown no significant difference between race and high RS in BC patients aged ≥65 years [16].…”

“…The reason for the observed difference remains unclear. Several studies have shown that African Americans (AA) had a higher rate of high RS (8.3-15.8%) than those with WA (5.9-7.1%) [12][13][14]. The role of the RS assay in evaluating intrinsic biological differences makes it an attractive tool to understand the outcome disparities between Chinese and WA BC patients.…”