Giving Compass' Take:
- Research finds that Black women are at higher risk for being diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancers, which usually have poor prognoses.
- This research found that this type of breast cancer is less likely to be screen-tested, suggesting that models of predictability for this breast cancer for women of color may need to improve to better serve patients. How can this research help inform healthcare changes?
- Read why we are failing Black women with breast cancer.
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Black women have nearly a three-fold increased risk of triple negative breast cancers, according to a new study.
These types of cancer have a poor prognosis.
The analysis of nearly 200,000 patients who received mammograms between 2006 and 2015 across three US health systems underscores the importance of understanding the heterogeneity of breast cancer risk factors for women of differing races, ages, and disease subtypes.
The study appears in Cancer Medicine.
The cohort included 29,822 (15%) Black women—a group historically understudied in cancer research. While it is known that Black women have a higher risk of this type of breast cancer, the magnitude of the risk researchers found in this study is of particular interest, given the study’s comprehensive adjustment for breast cancer risk factors in a screened population.
Additionally, the researchers found that triple negative breast cancers were less likely to be screen detected and more likely than other subtypes to be diagnosed as interval cancers. Higher breast density was associated with increased risk of all four tumor subtypes, with a stronger association among premenopausal women for ER/PR+HER2- and TNBC.
Read the full article about risk of breast cancer for Black women by Lauren Ingeno at Futurity.