Paclitaxel‐Coated Balloon for Treating In‐Stent Restenosis in Racial and Ethnic Minority Patients: A Subanalysis From the AGENT IDE Trial

Background Racial and ethnic minority patients have higher rates of adverse ischemic events following percutaneous coronary intervention. The impact of these disparities on the efficacy of drug‐coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty for in‐stent restenosis is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of DCB angioplasty among racial and ethnic minority patients presenting with in‐stent restenosis. Methods This was a prespecified analysis of the AGENT IDE (A Clinical Trial to Assess the Agent Paclitaxel Coated PTCA Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty Balloon Catheter for the Treatment of Subjects With In‐Stent Restenosis) trial which randomized patients with in‐stent restenosis (2:1) to treatment with AGENT paclitaxel‐coated balloon or conventional balloon angioplasty. The primary outcome was 1‐year target lesion failure (composite of ischemia‐driven target lesion revascularization, target vessel myocardial infarction, and cardiac death). Baseline clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared in minority patients versus non‐Hispanic White patients and interaction terms used to determine if DCB efficacy was influenced by race or ethnicity. Results Of the 406 patients treated with DCB, 103 (25%) self‐identified as minority patients (30.1% Black, 25.2% Hispanic/Latino, 8.7% Asian), and 303 (75%) as non‐Hispanic White patients. Minority patients were younger (66 versus 69 years, P =0.003). There were no differences in 1‐year target lesion failure (15.0% versus 18.9%; hazard ratio HR, 0.79 95% CI, 0.44–1.39; P =0.41) or target lesion revascularization (11.1% versus 13.7%; HR, 0.80 95% CI, 0.41–1.56; P =0.51) between subgroups, including after adjustment for imbalances in baseline characteristics (adjusted odds ratio for target lesion failure 0.71 95% CI, 0.37–1.34). Both groups derived similar DCB benefit, with no significant treatment by race and ethnicity interaction ( P ‐interaction >0.30 for all end points). Conclusions In this prespecified analysis of the AGENT IDE trial, 1‐year outcomes following DCB angioplasty were comparable between minority and non‐Hispanic White patients. Although wide CIs limited the exclusion of clinically meaningful differences in outcomes between these groups, the relative efficacy of DCB versus balloon angioplasty was consistent across race and ethnicity. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ; Identifier: NCT04647253. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04647253