Ruddy, K. J.

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among female adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 15-39 years). While advances in treatment have improved survival, cardiovascular disease (CVD) can result from systemic therapies, and CVD is a leading cause of death in AYA cancer survivors. AYAs with BC face nearly a four-fold increased risk of CVD compared to their peers without cancer. However, data on the effects of systemic treatment on CVD in this population remains limited. We estimated risk of CVD in AYAs diagnosed with invasive BC (2006-2020), who survived ≥2 years, and were diagnosed and treated in the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Northern and Southern California. Patients were categorized by receipt of anthracycline-, alkylating-, HER2-, platinum-, and taxane-based therapies within 2 years of diagnosis. We examined the cumulative incidence of CVD starting 2 years post-diagnosis and used Cox proportional hazards regression to determine factors associated with CVD. Among 3,071 AYAs, 35.1% were non-Hispanic (NH) White, 31.6% were Hispanic, 18.3% were NH Asian, and 8.2% were NH Black. Most received systemic therapy (90.6%), including anthracycline- and alkylator without HER2-targeted therapy (41.9%) and HER2-targeted therapy without anthracycline (20.9%). Fewer AYAs received a taxane and alkylator (13.0%) or anthracycline with alkylator and taxane along with a HER2-targeting agent (6.4%). Mean follow-up after cancer diagnosis was 7.2 years (range: 2.0-17.5). The 10-year cumulative incidence of CVD was highest among AYAs who received anthracycline/alkylator/taxane/HER2-targeting therapy (19.6%), intermediate for those with anthracycline/alkylator without HER2-targeting therapy (13.0%) and those who received HER2-targeted therapy without anthracycline (14.6%), and lowest for those who received taxane/alkylator (7.3%). In the multivariable model adjusted for demographic factors and radiation, compared to taxane/alkylator, anthracycline/alkylator/taxane/HER2-targeting therapy (hazard ratio (HR)=2.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-4.43); anthracycline/alkylator without HER2-targeting therapy (HR=1.75, CI 1.13-2.71); and HER2-targeting therapy without anthracycline (HR=2.13, CI 1.11-4.09) were associated with an increased risk of CVD. CVD risk was similar for taxane/alkylator and no systemic therapy. Other factors associated with higher risk of CVD included NH Black race/ethnicity (HR=1.90, CI 1.32-2.73 vs. NH White) and public health insurance (HR=1.67, CI 1.00-2.78 vs private). This study identifies AYA BC survivors at higher risk of CVD based on treatment regimens received, with highest risks found for those receiving anthracycline/alkylator/taxane/HER2 treatment combinations. In addition, AYAs of Black race/ethnicity and those with public health insurance experienced more CVD, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these disparities. Citation Format: Theresa H. M. Keegan, Candice A. Sauder, Ann M. Brunson, Renata Abrahao, Anne C. Kirchhoff, Eric Haupt, Mallory Casperson, Ted Wun, Chun R. Chao, Andrew B. Smitherman, Hazel B. Nichols, Jessica Chubak, Erin E. Hahn, Lawrence H. Kushi, Kathryn J. Ruddy. Systemic therapy and cardiovascular disease in adolescent and young adult breast cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 5219.

Abstract Introduction: An Our Practice Advisory (OPA), formerly known as Best Practice Advisory (BPA), is an electronic health record (EHR) tool. OPAs identify key parameters to alert providers of potential interventions that could enhance quality of care. Such functionality is increasingly relevant given the rapid pace of new drug approvals. Within the Mayo Clinic system, we previously identified that amongst Mayo Clinic patients (pts) meeting the MonarchE criteria, 28% of pts did not undergo a documented discussion with their provider regarding the role of adjuvant abemaciclib (Premji, SABCS 2024). Further, a Flatiron study identified that only 40% of eligible pts received abemaciclib (Sandoval, Miami Breast 2025). To address this practice gap, in 2024 we began to implement EHR clinical decision support by creating an OPA trigger for pts eligible for an adjuvant CDK 4/6 inhibitor (CDK 4/6i). Here we report on ‘action taken’ versus not for the OPA and the most common reasons for re-prompts. Methods: The Mayo Breast Disease Group designed an OPA including pts who are within 14 months of a clinical or pathologic diagnosis of high-risk early-stage breast cancer. We leveraged structured data captured in the Epic staging forms (Epic Systems) to identify pts with clinical or pathologic T-stage, N-stage, grade, ± Ki-67/ multigene signature to identify ER+/HER2- pts eligible for adjuvant ribociclib or abemaciclib based on FDA approvals. The OPA was triggered by a patient encounter in oncology when endocrine therapy (but not CDK4/6i) was on the active medication list resulting in a hard stop. The OPA gathered limited details about whether adjuvant CDK4/6 inhibitors were discussed and whether the provider followed a link that resulted in prescribing one—considered an indicator of action taken. In this IRB-exempt quality improvement project, we describe the responses captured in the OPA trigger utilizing Epic tools. Results: The OPA went live on 1/10/2025. Over a 5-month period post OPA initiation, we identified 517 OPA alerts among 332 unique pts. Their median age was 62.5 years, and the majority were female (97%). The median time to resolve the OPA was 17.5 seconds (range 2-567 seconds). 12.6% (65/517) of the time there was ‘action taken’ by selecting the hyperlink to potentially start a treatment plan. Providers selected the following OPA pre-set responses: ‘re-prompt in one month’ 248 (48%), ‘patient not a candidate for therapy’ 48 (9%), ‘patient declines’ 69 (13%), ‘outside oncologist will prescribe’ 36 (7%), ‘not discussed’ 44 (9%), and unknown 72 (14%). The most common free text comments among the 517 OPA alerts (summarized) included: ‘revisit in future’ 108 (21%), ‘too early’ 65 (13%), ‘patient declines’ 66 (13%), ‘outside oncologist will start’ 31 (6%), ‘not a candidate’ 26 (5%), and ‘co-morbidities’ 18 (3%). Erroneous OPA prompting occurred in 14 (3%) who previously failed a CDK4/6i due to toxicity and in 18 (3%) for pts currently on a CDK4/6i. 30 (6%) OPA comments noted that they discussed or started therapy that day. Conclusion: The OPA offered clinical decision support and ensured that clinicians considered prescribing CDK 4/6i in all pts identified as eligible, and captured deferrals. Refinements are needed to ensure appropriate timing of OPA and minimize erroneous firing. The OPA remains active and captures the reason for deferral of adjuvant CDK 4/6i prescription. This data pairs real world decision making to better understand clinically meaningful application of improved invasive disease-free survival (iDFS). Citation Format: S. Premji, P. Advani, S. Chumsri, L. Mina, J. Taraba, J. Carroll, J. Hoppenworth, E. Cathcart-Rake, T. Haddad, B. Rudder, G. Choong, D. Idossa, C. O’Sullivan, S. Yadav, K. Ruddy, P. Peethambaram, T. Hobday, M. Goetz, R. Rao, B. Ernst, F. Batalini, R. Leon-Ferre, A. Tevaarwerk, K. Giridhar. Implementing an Our Practice Advisory (OPA) to provide clinical decision support for adjuvant CDK4/6 inhibitors in early-stage hormone receptor positive breast cancer: The Mayo Clinic Experience [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS5-11-10.

Abstract Background Young age is a known risk factor for breast cancer recurrence and mortality, particularly in hormone receptor-positive disease. However, no specific evidence exists on whether age at diagnosis influences clinical behavior and outcomes among carriers of germline BRCA pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (PVs). Methods The BRCA BCY Collaboration (NCT03673306) is an international, multicenter, hospital-based, retrospective cohort study including women with germline BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 PVs and diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer at the age of 40 years or younger between January 2000 and December 2020. The present analysis aimed to evaluate clinical features and outcomes of breast cancer in young BRCA carriers according to age at diagnosis, by comparing patients aged ≤30 years with those aged 31-35 and 36-40 years at breast cancer diagnosis. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). Overall survival (OS) was a secondary endpoint. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), adjusting for risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) and risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) (time-dependent), and stratifying by country, year of diagnosis, tumor size, nodal involvement, tumor grade and hormone receptor status. Results From 109 centers in 5 continents, 5350 young BRCA carriers were included, of whom 1106 (20.7%) were ≤30 years of age, 1945 (36.4%) were 31-35 years and 2299 (43.0%) were 36-40 years at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. Compared to patients aged 31-35 and 36-40 years, those aged ≤30 years were more likely to harbor BRCA1 PVs (71.3%, 62.4%, 61.1%, respectively), to present with high-grade (G3 in 71.3%, 66.6%, 65.0%, respectively), triple-negative breast cancer (56.3%, 48.1%, 46.6%, respectively), and less frequently smaller tumor size (T1: 31.7%, 36.6% and 39.5%, respectively). Consequently, chemotherapy was administered more frequently among patients aged ≤30 years (94.4%, 92.6%, 89.7%, respectively). At a median follow-up of 8.2 years (IQR, 4.7-12.8), 8-year DFS rate was 65.0% among patients aged ≤30 years, 64.7% in the 31-35 years group, and 65.8% in the 36-40 years group. No significant association between age at diagnosis and DFS outcome was observed (31-35 vs. ≤30 years: aHR 1.03, 95% CI 0.89-1.19; 36-40 vs. ≤30 years aHR 1.00, 95% CI 0.87-1.16). Similarly, no significant association between age at diagnosis and OS was observed (31-35 vs. ≤30 years: aHR 1.10, 95% CI 0.86-1.41; 36-40 vs. ≤30 years: aHR 1.11, 95% CI 0.87-1.43). Subgroup analyses by specific BRCA gene, tumor subtype, tumor size, nodal status, and chemotherapy use revealed no statistically significant interaction with age at diagnosis in terms of DFS or OS (all p for interaction > 0.05). Specifically, no significant differences between age groups were observed among patients with luminal-like tumors for both DFS and OS. Conclusions In this unique international cohort of BRCA carriers diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age (≤40 years), we found no significant differences in DFS nor OS across different age groups. Notably, very young age (≤30 years) at diagnosis was not associated with worse outcomes compared to 31-35 years or 36-40 years. Age per se should not be considered a negative prognostic factor in BRCA carriers when appropriate treatment is provided. Citation Format: E. Blondeaux, A. Meacci, M. Fragío Gil, E. Klocker, F. Coussy, H. Kim, R. Bernstein Molho, F. Hilbers, A. Di Meglio, A. Kwong, K. Pogoda, J. Bajpai, H. Wildiers, E. Agostinetto, J. Balmana, H. C. Moore, K. Phillips, A. H. Partridge, C. Rousset-Jablonski, F. A. Peccatori, A. Toss, T. Renaud, C. Anghelone, A. Benitez Cruz, S. Paluch-Shimon, J. Lee, R. Fruscio, W. Cui, S. M. Wong, M. Lee, M. Rozenblit, C. Vernieri, C. Villarreal-Garza, A. Matikas, M. Dieci, L. De Marchis, J. K. Plichta, K. J. Ruddy, D. Can Guven, F. Puglisi, Z. Kemp, P. A. Meireles, L. Del Mastro, V. Delucchi, M. Lambertini. Association between age at diagnosis and survival among young BRCA carriers with breast cancer: results from an international multicenter hospital-based cohort study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD4-07.