Citations

545 Background: ILC is characterized by loss of E-cadherin expression, with distinct biological and clinical features, and is often perceived to be less sensitive to chemotherapy compared with IDC. Oncologists and pts may face a treatment dilemma regarding the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy in pts with lower biologic risk but higher anatomic risk (N2/N3), stage III ILC. In this study, we sought to compare the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in pN2/N3 ILC compared with IDC. Methods: We used the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to identify adults with primary, non-metastatic, ER-positive/HER2-negative invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2022 who underwent upfront surgery. Patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy were excluded. Analyses were limited to pathologic stage I–III disease with known nodal involvement (N2–N3) and tumor category (T1–4). Propensity score matching (1:3, caliper 0.2; using R 4.5.1) was performed to balance age, sex, race, insurance status, grade, pathologic stage, nodal category, tumor category, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score, and year of diagnosis. Overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards models used to estimate hazard ratios (SPSS v28). Results: After propensity matching, we analyzed 28,115 pts with pN2/N3 disease (ILC 9,603 and IDC 18,512). Upstaging from cN0 to pN2/3 was higher for ILC than IDC (20.3% vs 13.3%, p<0.001). ILC pts were more likely to undergo mastectomy compared to IDC (80.2% vs 71.2%, p<0.001). Receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy for pN2/N3 disease was similar between IDC and ILC (78.0% vs 78.4%, p=0.37), as was use of adjuvant radiation and endocrine therapy. Among patients receiving chemotherapy, treatment was associated with a 65% reduction in death in ILC (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.32–0.38, p<0.001) and a 73% reduction in IDC (HR 0.27, 95% CI 0.26–0.29, p<0.001), compared with no chemotherapy. 5-year OS among chemotherapy-treated patients was lower for ILC compared with IDC (HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.33-1.49; p<0.001, Table 1). In contrast, no OS difference was observed between ILC and IDC among patients who did not receive chemotherapy (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.96-1.11; p=0.38). Chemotherapy was associated with higher 5-year OS in both IDC (87.7% vs 58.9%) and ILC (84.3% vs 59.2%). Conclusions: Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a substantial improvement in 5-year OS among patients with pN2/N3 disease in both IDC and ILC. Pts with ILC and extensive nodal involvement benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. 5-year survival of IDC and ILC. IDC (18,512) ILC (9,603) No Chemotherapy (4,078) Adjuvant Chemotherapy (14,434) No Chemotherapy (2,071) Adjuvant Chemotherapy (7,532) pN2 (18,669) 62.8% 90.1% 64.4% 87.6% pN3 (9,446) 48.3% 82.2% 51.4% 79.4% pN2/pN3 Combined (28,115) 58.9% 87.7% 59.2% 84.3% P <0.001, log rank.

525 Background: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) decreases breast cancer (BC) recurrence and improves overall survival (OS) for patients (pts) with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) BC. Omission of adjuvant ET and nonadherence are major issues contributing to worse clinical outcomes. Recent data suggest that the number of pts who omit adjuvant ET may be increasing in Europe [1]. These data have yet to be evaluated in the U.S. We previously reported data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) that ET omission was more likely in pts with ER+/HER2+ disease who achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) [2]. Herein we report an updated analysis with a larger cohort designed to examine trends in ET omission over time and the impact on OS in a group of pts at high risk of recurrence. Methods: The NCDB was queried from 2010-2022 for pts with stage I-III ER+BC treated with NAC and surgery. pCR was defined as ypT0, ypN0. Use of adjuvant ET and the impact of adjuvant ET omission on OS in pts with and without pCR were assessed separately based on HER2 status. Adjuvant ET initiation by 1 year was summarized using the cumulative incidence estimate to account for the competing risk of death. OS was analyzed with ET as a time-dependent covariate using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: We identified 130,438 pts with ER+BC (78,778 ER+/HER2-, 51,660 ER+/HER2+) who received NAC. Median follow-up was 5 years. Overall, pCR was achieved in 10.0% of ER+/HER2- and 35.9% of ER+/HER2+. On multivariable analysis, ET omission was significantly associated with worse OS in pts with residual disease (RD) [ER+/HER2- (HR 1.80 p<0.001) ER+/HER2+ (HR 1.66 p<0.001] and in those with a pCR [ER+/HER2- (HR 1.38 p=0.002) ER+/HER2+ (HR 1.42 p<0.001)]. Between 2010-2017, adjuvant ET omission was stable, with approximately 10.0% of pts not having initiated ET by 1 year after surgery. The proportion of pts omitting ET overall increased thereafter to 12.9% in 2018, rising to 24.4% in 2022. A sharp increase in ET omission was observed 2021-2022 in ER+/HER2- BC who achieved pCR, with 42.4% omitting ET compared to 25.1% for 2018-2020 and 18.8% for 2010-2017 (p<0.001). Adjuvant ET omission showed more modest but significant increases for other subgroups (p<0.001): ER+/HER2- with RD (8.5% 2010-2017, 12.3% 2018-2020, 18.7% 2021-2022), ER+/HER2+ with pCR (15.1% 2010-2017, 14.0% 2018-2020, 24.4% 2021-2022), and ER+/HER2+ with RD (9.5% 2010-2017, 12.5% 2018-2020, 22.2% 2021-2022). Conclusions: In ER+BC treated with NAC, omission of ET is increasing over time and associated with a higher risk of death, regardless of HER2, RD, or pCR status. These findings have substantial public health implications as they may result in a reversal of the 4-decade improvements in breast cancer mortality. Additional intervention is critical to improve adherence to guidelines. [1] Verreck et al. Breast 2025 [2] Choong et al. SABCS 2022.

Abstract Background Whether outcomes of germline BRCA1/2 (gBRCA1/2)-associated breast cancer differ compared with sporadic tumors is controversial. We explored the impact of gBRCA1/2 pathogenic variant (PV) status beyond established prognostic features. Methods We conducted 2 retrospective, matched cohort studies comparing gBRCA1/2 PV carriers and noncarriers with HER2-negative, stage I-III breast cancer (Clinical Outcomes Quality Database [COQD] cohort: 185 carriers, 555 noncarriers; Young Women’s Breast Cancer Study [YWS] cohort: 113 carriers, 226 noncarriers). Matching factors were age, stage, hormone receptor status, and year of diagnosis. Clinicopathological features, treatments, and survival outcomes were compared between carriers and noncarriers. Results Most patients in COQD had stage I-II disease (87.2%), and more carriers than noncarriers had genetic testing before diagnosis (33% vs 5.6%, P &lt; .001). In YWS, 22.7% of patients had stage III tumors, and few were tested before diagnosis (14.8% of carriers vs 1.7% of noncarriers; P &lt; .001). Carriers in COQD received chemotherapy more often than noncarriers (81.1 vs 67.0%, P &lt; .001), including platinum (P = .010); the proportion was similar for carriers and noncarriers in YWS. After adjusting for chemotherapy, relapse-free survival was longer in carriers than noncarriers in COQD (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.48 [95% CI = 0.26 to 0.87], P = .016), and a favorable trend was observed for other survival outcomes in both cohorts. Triple-negative tumors appeared to drive the differences. Conclusions We observed a trend toward improved outcomes in gBRCA1/2 PV carriers compared with noncarriers. These findings suggest that carriers should not receive more aggressive treatment solely based on their germline mutation status. Prospective clinical trials in this population are warranted.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), principally Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are common chronic disorders involving inflammation and often progressive tissue damage. Genome-wide association studies have mapped many risk signals, but the causal variants, effector genes and relevant cellular contexts remain difficult to resolve, limiting mechanistic interpretation and therapeutic translation. Here we performed a multi-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis of 125,992 individuals with IBD and more than 1.2 million controls, identifying 619 independent association signals (374 novel) at 420 IBD regions that account for 77–80% of SNP-based heritability. Fine-mapping resolved 81 high-confidence variants, 41 not previously reported. Although most signals were shared between CD and UC, 39% showed IBD subtype specificity, with UC signals showing stronger enrichment in functional annotations from intestinal epithelial, secretory and enteroendocrine cells, and CD showing stronger genetic correlations with circulating inflammatory biomarkers, including C-reactive protein and glycoprotein acetylation. Latent causal modelling supported a causal effect of decreased high-density lipoprotein on CD risk. By integrating bulk and single-cell eQTL and pQTL resources using colocalisation and Mendelian randomisation, together with coding-variant evidence from exome sequencing, we prioritised 664 candidate effector genes across 341 signals, including 390 newly implicated IBD genes, revealing new biological mechanisms and candidate therapeutic targets supported by human genetics.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune-mediated disorder of the gastrointestinal tract whose genetic basis is only partly resolved because most risk variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) lie in non-coding regions, limiting direct gene assignment and biological interpretation 1,2 . Here we analysed whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing data from 86,213 IBD cases and 478,363 controls of European ancestry. We identified 68 IBD genes directly implicated by conditionally independent protein-coding associations across the allele frequency spectrum. Many newly implicated IBD genes are supported by orthogonal genomic or pleiotropic evidence, pointing to disease-related pathways and nominating targets with therapeutic relevance. We further identified allelic series and non-additive effects at key loci such as NOD2 and TYK2. These results show that large-scale sequencing can resolve disease genes and pathways that remain ambiguous from non-coding association alone, providing a more direct route from human genetics to biological insight and therapeutic hypotheses.

Purpose: Supervised walking exercise is a critical component of rehabilitation for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD); however, various barriers could limit participation in such programs, highlighting the need for accessible exercise strategies that may facilitate a gradual transition to more intensive physical activity while improving vascular function and walking performance in this population. We examined the hypothesis that static muscular stretching would improve microvascular function and walking ability in patients with PAD. Methods: Thirty-six PAD patients, classified as Fontaine Stage II or III, were randomized into stretching or non-stretching groups. The stretching group performed daily calf stretching using an ankle dorsiflexion splint for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) and a vascular occlusion test were used to assess changes in walking ability and calf microvascular function before and after the intervention. Results: Microvascular hyperemic reperfusion significantly increased in the treatment group (4958±1111 to 5749±1459 %*s, p=0.034), with no change observed in the control group (5502±1231 to 5022±1160 %*s, p=0.155). 6MWT total walking distance increased in all participants (260±88 to 285±85 m, p=0.004). A moderate but non-significant correlation was observed between the changes in 6MWT and total walking distance and reperfusion index in the treatment group (r=0.45, p=0.26). Conclusions: Static muscular stretching improves microvascular perfusion in the calf muscles, which may contribute to improvement in walking ability in patients with PAD. This low-cost and time-saving intervention may serve as a gradual transition to traditional supervised walking exercise rehabilitation, especially in patients with severely impaired walking ability.

Abstract Background Anti‐M antibodies were described as rarely eliciting hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) in pregnancy. More recent literature, primarily from Asia, reports severe HDFN attributed to maternal anti‐M. The objective of this study is to determine if there is a difference in the frequency and/or severity of anti‐M HDFN among subjects who self‐report as Asian compared to non‐Asian. Methods Retrospective data were collected from 18 sites. Fetuses/neonates affected by HDFN were categorized as unaffected, mild, moderate, or severe based on clinical management and outcomes. Results Anti‐M was identified in 557 obstetric patients. Among 332 neonates with complete data for analysis, anti‐M was detected in isolation during the pregnancies of 210 (63.3%) neonates; 198 (94.3%) were unaffected by HDFN. The overall frequency of HDFN was 6.5% (2/31) in Asian patients and 5.6% (10/179) in non‐Asian patients. The frequency of severe HDFN was 6.5% (2/31) among Asian patients and 0.6% (1/179) among non‐Asian patients. Among non‐Asian patients, eight (4.5%) were mild and one (0.6%) was moderate. Of 63 pregnancies with anti‐M and ABO incompatibility, 6 (9.5%) were associated with mild HDFN and 57 (90.5%) were unaffected. Of 49 pregnancies with anti‐M and non‐ABO antibody(s), 6 (12.2%) were associated with mild HDFN and 43 (87.8%) were unaffected. One case (10.0%) of HDFN (mild) occurred in the presence of anti‐M, additional antibody(s), and ABO incompatibility. Conclusion In this study, severe anti‐M HDFN was rare in non‐Asian subjects. There is a signal that Asian patients are at greater risk for severe anti‐M HDFN.

Abstract Background: The increasing volume and diversity of clinical genomic reports pose a significant challenge across healthcare institutions for the interpretation and proper implementation of precision oncology research. Reports from multiple different vendors (e.g., Invitae, Ambry Genetics, Foundation Medicine) are typically PDFs and exhibit substantial heterogeneity in panel design, gene coverage, and reporting standards, which hinders efficient retrospective data mining and patient cohort identification within the electronic medical records. We sought to develop a framework to interrogate all of these reports. Methods: We extracted genomic reports from patients with breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and developed MolHarmonizer, a novel, scalable framework leveraging Python and Gemini LLMs, designed to process and harmonize genomic data from disparate multi-vendor reports. Gemini LLMs are employed explicitly for robust information extraction, normalization, and structuring of key genomic features, transforming unstructured data into a unified, queryable dataset. Results: Our MolHarmonizer framework successfully processed 1,147 genomic reports from 1703 breast cancer patients (2006-2023) from 23 different companies, demonstrating robust capability to extract and standardize critical actionable biomarkers. Data sources included Invitae (n=554), Ambry Genetics (n=189), Natera (n=95), Mayo Clinic (n=88), Tempus (n=63), Guardant Health (n=47), and Foundation Medicine (n=37), with others contributing less than 20 reports. Of the samples, 827/1147 (72.1%) were germline (blood/saliva). A majority of the patients were tested using the panels due to a personal/family history (n=925). Overall, 413/1147 (36.0%) reports identified at least one mutation. For breast cancer, 75 reports showed BRCA1/2 mutations (37 BRCA1, 37 BRCA2, and one patient with both BRCA1 and 2). Other mutations identified included: PIK3CA (n=40), TP53 (n=96), PTEN (n=21), ESR1 (n=13) and AKT1/2 (n=8). Conclusion: MolHarmonizer, a powerful framework leveraging Gemini LLMs, effectively addresses genomic data heterogeneity by automating biomarker extraction and harmonization. This enables rapid cohort identification and deep retrospective analyses for clinical insights, biomarker discovery, understanding disease history, facilitating novel pattern discovery, e.g., predicting BRCA1 mutations from WSI, and accelerating research within our neoadjuvant BC cohort. Future plans include expanding to include over 20,000 breast cancer patients, developing a user-friendly chatbot, and ensuring inter-institutional adaptability for a variety of complex diseases. Citation Format: Krishna Rani Kalari, Xiaojia Tang, Thanmayee Boyapati, Tanya L. Hoskin, Sumathilatha Myla, Sumedha G. Penheiter, Richard M. Weinshilboum, Liewei Wang, Hamid R. Tizhoosh, Karthik Vikram Giridhar, Matthew P. Goetz, Judy C. Boughey. Development of an LLM framework for analysis of heterogeneous breast cancer patients genomic reports [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 2756.