Triple negative breast cancers are increased in black women regardless of age or body mass index
Lesley Stead, Timothy L Lash, Jerome Sobieraj, Dorcas Chi, Jennifer Westrup, Marjory Charlot, Rita Blanchard, John-cho Lee, Thomas King, Carol L Rosenberg
Breast Cancer Research 2009, 11:R18doi:10.1186/bcr2242
Reported online, on the breast cancer research website. black women are three times more likely than other women to develop an aggressive form of breast cancer characterised by "triple negative tumours. The findings held true even when other risk factors such as lifestyle, age and weight were taken into account. In the United States, where the study was conducted, the overall incidence of breast cancer is lower in black women than in white women. But when black women do get breast cancer, it tends to be more advanced when diagnosed, has a higher risk of recurring, and a less favourable outcome.Black women of diverse background have 3-fold more Tneg tumours than non-black women, regardless of age and BMI.
Researchers led by Carol Rosenberg of Boston University analysed 415 breast cancer cases and noted the number of "triple negative" tumours, so called because three critical proteins -- estrogen and progesterone receptors, and the HER2 gene -- malfunction.
"The odds of having a triple-negative tumour were three times higher for black women than for non-black women," said Rosenberg
It had been known that pre-menopausal black women were disproportionately affected by this deadly form of cancer, but the new study showed that these tumours were just as common in black women diagnosed before or after age 50, obese or not.
The higher prevalence of triple negative breast tumours in black women in all age and weight categories likely contributes to black women's unfavourable breast cancer prognosis
