Biology and genetics play a huge role in the development of certain types of breast cancer. But in the latest studies, scientists describe other risk factors that are just as important to consider as others. As doctors learn about the different types of breast cancer, they have discovered that a woman's racial and ethnic background may put them at a higher risk of developing certain types of cancer.
In recent studies, experts found that African-American women have higher chances to develop an aggressive form of breast cancer called triple negative. Time.com reported that it was given that name because the tumors don't recognize hormones like estrogen or progesterone or the protein HER2, which trigger abnormal growth but can be prevented with current drugs. These women may also be at later stages of the disease when they are diagnosed, leaving them with few, if any, options for treatment.
Lu Chen from the division of public health services at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center revealed in the latest research that African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages with the most aggressive form. Not only that, they are also more likely to be diagnosed at later stages for breast cancer.
102,064 women from different ethnic and racial backgrounds and from different cancer centers were studied. African-American, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian women showed 20% to 60% higher rates of diagnosis with stage 2 to stage 4 breast cancers of any type compared to Caucasian women.
They found that African-American women's risk was highest among all that was tested with a 40% to 70% greater risk of being diagnosed with stage 4, the most advanced, of any type of breast cancer.
"There are a lot of reasons why these women have a higher incidence of particular subtypes of breast cancer that may have something to do with genetics and biological factors," says Chen. "Being diagnosed at a later stage and not receiving treatment has more to do with social, cultural and economic factors though," she added.