Men and women of color are uniquely affected by breast cancer. African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race. And among those with estrogen receptor-positive tumors, they are more than twice as likely to die within the first three years, as compared to white women. Treatment is more difficult for women of color since they are more likely to be diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a notoriously difficult cancer to treat, with a higher mortality rate, and they are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage with larger tumors.
Two gene variants found in African American women may explain why they are more likely to be diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) than white women of European ancestry, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The study findings may have implications for developing better risk assessment tools for TNBC in African American [...]
What are BRCA1 & BRCA2 Genes? While every woman has about a 12% risk to develop breast cancer, the risk is higher when a woman has a variation in a certain gene. In the mid 1990’s, researchers found that mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes increase a woman’s, and sometimes a man’s, risk of [...]
With over one-third of adult women estimated to use hair dye in the U.S. (1), hair dye and breast cancer have been a topic of interest with researchers for some time. A study published in December in the International Journal of Cancer sheds some light on the controversial issue. In the paper, researchers examined women [...]
Overall breast cancer death rates dropped 39 percent between 1989 and 2015, averting 322,600 breast cancer deaths during those 26 years. And while black women continue to have higher breast cancer death rates than whites nationally, death rates in several states are now statistically equivalent, perhaps reflecting an elimination of disparities in those states. The [...]
Definition, treatment, survival rates, prognosis and statistics of triple negative breast cancer.
By AACR
ON November 7, 2012
Non-Hispanic black women diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically those with estrogen receptor-positive tumors, are at a significantly increased risk for breast cancer death compared with non-Hispanic white women.
The most recent trends and statistics on the diagnosis of breast cancer based on gender, age, race/ethnicity as well as survivability figures.
By AACR
ON February 16, 2012
African-American women are at higher risk for hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, one of the most difficult subtypes to treat, but this risk could be ameliorated somewhat by breast-feeding their children.
By AACR
ON November 4, 2011
Certain cancer signaling pathways that are activated in aggressive cancer can be detected very early, even in precancerous cells, among young African-American women at high risk for breast cancer. This may allow for earlier detection and prevention of cancer.
Being able to educate people of all ages and ethnicities about breast health is very rewarding. This week, I went from presenting to ten 40-50 year old Caucasian and African American women at YWCA of NYC, to one hundred Asian high school students at Lower East Side Prep High School. People of all ages and [...]
