Abstract B084: Neighborhood environment and occurrence of crown-like structures in breast tissues of a diverse cohort of women with and without breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract Neighborhood features have been shown to influence breast cancer risk and outcomes, but there is a lack of molecular data in this area. Our study seeks to investigate whether neighborhood deprivation factors such as employment, housing, poverty, residential stability, and residential segregation by race/ethnicity may influence the presence of inflammation in the breast, scored as crown-like structures of the breast (CLS-B). We hypothesize that high deprivation leads to an increase in inflammatory processes that promote a pro-inflammatory immune microenvironment, including CLS-B presence and the activation of cancer-related pathways, especially for Black women who often experience more aggressive tumors and worse breast cancer outcomes. Our study included 104 normal samples from reduction mammoplasty (63 Black, 41 White) and 114 tumor adjacent normal tissues (73 Black, 41 White) from the NCI-MD Breast Cancer Study. All participants completed a detailed questionnaire to capture breast cancer risk factors of interest and demographic characteristics. Tract-level socioeconomic deprivation was measured using a neighborhood deprivation index (NDI). Tissue samples underwent immunohistochemical staining for the pan-macrophage marker, CD68, in order to detect CLS-B. Pathologists used an artificial intelligence-assisted approach to score CLS-B for whole slide images. Preliminary findings in a subset of 36 participants indicate a positive association between presence of CLS-B and increased NDI scores in a linear regression model adjusted for age (b=1.29, p=0.28). This preliminary work provides an initial link between neighborhood environment and inflammatory markers within breast tissue. On-going efforts are focused on expanding our sample size to further bolster these findings, supporting future mechanistic investigations. Citation Format: Wayne Lawrence, Petra H. Lenz, Tiffany Dorsey, Stefan Ambs, Brittany Lord, Alexandra R. Harris, Jamirra G. Franklin. Neighborhood environment and occurrence of crown-like structures in breast tissues of a diverse cohort of women with and without breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B084.