Single-center retrospective study of differential distribution of recurrence scores in groups of breast cancer patients

The Oncotype DX Recurrence Score (RS) is a widely used prognostic tool for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients. Multiple surrogate models can predict RS with good accuracy. A retrospective study at East Carolina University (Greenville, NC) investigated distribution of RS and two surrogate indices by age, menopausal status, race, and body mass index. Higher RS was observed in younger and premenopausal patients, especially among the Black and obese subgroups, and in non-obese patients, especially among Black and older/postmenopausal women, suggesting more aggressive disease in these subgroups. Some of these associations could be replicated by surrogate models (Breast Cancer Prognostic Score and modified Magee equation 2).