325 Advancing breast cancer risk identification and care in non-Hispanic Black Women

Objectives/Goals: This project will enrich our understanding of basal breast carcinogenesis, highlighting the distinct biological differences in breast cancer risk between non-Hispanic Black (NHB) or non-Hispanic White (NHW) women, but also has the potential to provide real-world solutions thereby contributing to reducing health disparities in breast cancer outcomes Methods/Study Population: In the biological investigation, I am utilizing a unique cohort of normal breast tissues from Mayo Clinic patients who underwent breast reduction surgery that have self-identified as NHB or NHW premenopausal women. From these tissues, we are able to subculture human mammary epithelial cells, which we will use for our consequent experiments. For the qualitative study, I aim to recruit up to 40–50 eligible NHB women identified at increased risk for breast cancer and conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews informed by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Framework. Results/Anticipated Results: Gene expression profiling on our cohort of 15 NHB and 40 NHW premenopausal women identified a gene expression signature in NHB women indicative of elevated Hedgehog signaling, a key factor in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) development and progression. I hypothesize that persistent activation of Hedgehog signaling within NHB women instigates the proliferation and transformation of basal stem cells within the breast, thus fueling TNBC development. Understanding the perceptions and experiences of NHB women that are identified as being at an increased risk for BC will aid in the identification of barriers and facilitators to their risk reduction care and in turn provide implementation strategies that could contribute to alleviating the racial disparity seen in TNBC morbidity, mortality, and preventative care. Discussion/Significance of Impact: The significance of this project lies in its dual approach, uncovering basal breast cancer mechanisms in a high-risk group using normal breast tissue and evaluating the perspectives from NHB women to enhance the practical relevance of our findings.