Prolonging the lives of African-Americans with metastatic breast cancer by adding palbociclib to an aromatase inhibitor in routine clinical practice: a plain language summary of a real-world database study.

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?: This summary is about a study that was published in the medical journal The Oncologist in July 2023. The combination of palbociclib with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) was approved by the FDA in 2015 as a treatment for people with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, the effectiveness of palbociclib in African-Americans with MBC is not well studied. The goal of this study was to find out whether adding palbociclib to an AI helped African-Americans with HR+/HER2- MBC live longer. WHAT ARE THE KEY TAKEAWAYS?: This study used de-identified medical information from the Flatiron Database. This database contains healthcare information on people with cancer treated by doctors in the United States but personal information is removed to maintain privacy. Medical information for people who received certain treatments in routine clinical practice or real-world setting was included in the study.This study showed that in the real-world setting, African-Americans with HR+/HER2- MBC lived longer when receiving palbociclib with an AI than with an AI alone. Also, the study showed that African-Americans treated with palbociclib plus an AI lived longer without their cancer getting worse than those treated with an AI alone. WHAT WAS THE MAIN CONCLUSION REPORTED BY THE RESEARCHERS?: These results support the use of palbociclib with an AI as a first treatment for African-Americans with HR+/HER2- MBC.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05361655 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Effectiveness of palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor in African Americans with metastatic breast cancer in routine clinical practice: a plain language summary.

The bench to community initiative: community-based participatory research model for translating research discoveries into community solutions.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective methodology for translating research findings from academia to community interventions. The Bench to Community Initiative (BCI), a CBPR program, builds on prior research to engage stakeholders across multiple disciplines with the goal of disseminating interventions to reduce breast cancer disparities and improve quality of life of Black communities. Methods: The BCI program was established to understand sociocultural determinants of personal care product use, evaluate the biological impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and develop community interventions. The three pillars of the program include research, outreach and engagement as well as advocacy activities. The research pillar of the BCI includes development of multidisciplinary partnerships to understand the sociocultural and biological determinants of harmful chemical (e.g., endocrine disrupting chemicals) exposures from personal care products and to implement community interventions. The outreach and engagement pillar includes education and translation of research into behavioral practice. The research conducted through the initiative provides the foundation for advocacy engagement with applicable community-based organizations. Essential to the mission of the BCI is the participation of community members and trainees from underrepresented backgrounds who are affected by breast cancer disparities. Results: Two behavioral interventions will be developed building on prior research on environmental exposures with the focus on personal care products including findings from the BCI. In person and virtual education activities include tabling at community events with do-it-yourself product demonstrations, Salon Conversations-a virtual platform used to bring awareness, education, and pilot behavior change interventions, biennial symposiums, and social media engagement. BCI's community advisory board members support activities across the three pillars, while trainees participate in personal and professional activities that enhance their skills in research translation. Discussion: This paper highlights the three pillars of the BCI, lessons learned, testimonies from community advisory board members and trainees on the impact of the initiative, as well as BCI's mission driven approaches to achieving health equity.