Is MammaPrint (gene expression profiling test) more accurate in the African American population?

From the Research

MammaPrint is not more accurate in the African American population, and its performance may be limited by the lack of diversity in the populations used to validate the test 1. The accuracy of MammaPrint, a 70-gene signature test, in assessing breast cancer recurrence risk in African American populations is a topic of ongoing research. Most validation studies for MammaPrint have been conducted in predominantly white populations, which may not accurately represent the biological differences in breast cancer between racial groups. Research suggests that African American women are more likely to have aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer, which could affect the performance of genomic tests like MammaPrint 2.

Some studies have investigated the impact of race/ethnicity on MammaPrint results, with one study finding that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women were more likely to have high-risk MammaPrint results compared to other racial/ethnic subgroups 1. However, the same study found no significant differences in overall survival between racial/ethnic subgroups in the MammaPrint low-risk or high-risk groups.

Given the limited evidence and potential limitations of MammaPrint in diverse populations, clinicians should consider these limitations when interpreting MammaPrint results for African American patients and may need to incorporate additional clinical factors into treatment decisions 1. More research is needed to validate MammaPrint in diverse populations and ensure equitable and accurate risk assessment across all racial groups.

Key points to consider:

• MammaPrint has been primarily validated in white populations
• African American women are more likely to have aggressive subtypes of breast cancer
• MammaPrint results may not accurately reflect recurrence risk in African American patients
• Additional clinical factors should be considered when interpreting MammaPrint results for African American patients
• More research is needed to validate MammaPrint in diverse populations 3, 1.