What is WISDOM 2.0?
Drumroll please…WISDOM2.0, the newest version of our study, is launching this month! “2.0” expands on WISDOM in several significant ways. This includes updates to our risk assessments, enhanced genetic results, and expanding enrollment to include women as young as 30! Our intention is to offer a breast cancer risk assessment (including genetic testing) to thousands of young women who could be at higher risk of developing aggressive cancer.
Our goal is to screen smarter, not screen more. Many women are at low risk and may not need screening until their 50s. But for the small percentage of women at very high risk for cancer, early screening and strategies to reduce risk can be critical.
Those who learn they are at higher risk will be offered our WISDOM genetic counseling services and risk reduction strategies. We also offer our Breast Health Decision Tool to many of our participants, which has suggestions for prevention and tools to understand risk.
The Science Behind 2.0
WISDOM aims to identify who is at risk for what kind of breast cancer. From that, we want to determine what populations and histories are at the highest risk so we can escalate screening and prevention.
There are well known differences in breast cancer risk among various demographics, however, many current models of breast cancer risk were developed with mainly Caucasian populations. We simply cannot let this continue. We have already implemented polygenic risk (PRS) models specific to Latina and Asian women and are working on developing a PRS model for Black women. This will improve our ability to predict who is at risk for aggressive versus slower growing tumors, as long as we continue to enroll a diverse group of women. That’s why it’s so important to have diverse populations participate in the WISDOM Study.
As new and better models for measuring genetics and risk are developed, we will continue to add them into the study as we have done before. Eventually we hope to show that our model is better for patients, more cost effective, and combined with prevention.
We are partnering with organizations across the country and enthusiasm for this study is building. WISDOM is an opportunity for women across the country to join us in our journey. Our goal is to enroll 50,000 women in WISDOM 2.0 starting in 2023, with at least 10,000 Black women.
For Those in WISDOM1.0
For those who are already part of WISDOM — your continued participation and completion of yearly surveys is critical! This will help us complete the necessary follow-up time in the study with each person enrolled. Once you’ve finished your follow-up, we will invite you to participate in WISDOM 2.0! For those in the Annual Arm, this means you can switch to the Personalized Arm and get genetic testing (or rejoin the Annual Arm). For those in the Personalized Arm, you may be asked to give another saliva sample so we can evaluate additional genetic risk factors (or join the Annual Arm). It will be up to you how to participate. Either way, your continued participation will continue to help you understand your risk, and provide key data to help inform the study and make the biggest impact possible.
We hope you will tell your friends and family to join us for WISDOM2.0, enrolling women as young as age 30 now!
