Studies Reveal Why Breast Cancer Hits Black Women Harder

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The first study, by researchers at the University of Chicago, looked at 1,246 women with stage I or stage II invasive breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and radiation.

Eight years after treatment, 84.9 percent of white women were alive and free of disease, compared to 78.1 percent of black women. Similarly, 31.6 percent of black women experienced a relapse at this point in time, versus 14.9 percent of all other women.

Current screening mammography guidelines might need to be revised to benefit black women, the authors reported.

"Maybe we should be more aggressive in general and systemic therapy, even in screening," Sickle-Santanello agreed.

The second study identified differences in the gene profiles of tumors, including those involved with angiogenesis (blood vessel development) and how tumor cells interact with the immune system.

Many of the same genes are active in inflammatory diseases such as chronic colitis. Previous studies have shown a link between these inflammatory conditions and cancer.

Finally, a third study looked at whether various groups of women, including black women, were undergoing auxiliary lymph node dissection, which can indicate whether the breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

After plying data on close to 200,000 women, the investigators found that uninsured women were 24 percent less likely to have their lymph nodes assessed, compared to women with private insurance.

Women who lived in areas with low education levels were 13 percent less likely than those from high education areas to undergo the procedure, and black patients were 10 percent less likely than white patients to have their lymph nodes accurately assessed.

Age was also a factor, with women 73 or older three times less likely to get the procedure, compared with women aged 51 or younger. Lymph node dissection is considered optional for elderly women but, even so, the researchers were surprised by the size of the discrepancy.

Overall, 11 percent of patients in the database did not undergo the procedure.