African-American ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and breast cancer survival (original) (raw)
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Impact of Race on Breast Cancer in Lower Socioeconomic Status Women
The Breast Journal, 2006
Lower socioeconomic status and lack of access to care are often implicated as plausible causes for African American women to present with later stage breast cancer than Caucasian women. Our objective is to determine if racial differences are present in newly diagnosed breast cancer in women of equivalent socioeconomic status. A retrospective review of prospectively gathered data from women with newly diagnosed breast cancer was performed. All women presented to the indigent (uninsured and below the poverty line) breast clinic for evaluation and treatment of their breast pathology. Data pertaining to epidemiologic factors, diagnosis, pathology, and treatment were collected. The data were analyzed by chi-squared and tailed t -tests. Between March 2002 and May 2004, 52 women (African American = 36, Caucasian = 16) were diagnosed with breast cancer at our clinic. The median age for both groups at presentation was 56.6 years. The staging assessment based on the pathologic size of the tumor was also equivalent between African American and Caucasian women at 2.29 cm and 2.21 cm, respectively. Metastatic lymph node involvement occurred in 14 women (African American = 7, Caucasian = 7), with 19.4% African American and 43.8% Caucasian being node positive (p = 0.068). In fact, there were no statistically significant differences between the races for menarche, menopause, body mass index (BMI), duration of symptoms before presentation, type of diagnostic biopsy or surgery chosen, histology, receptor status, utilization of chemotherapy and radiation, and length of follow-up. The only statistical differences found were in the age of the first live birth (African American = 19, Caucasian = 22; p = 0.028), the use of ultrasound in initial evaluation of a breast mass (less use in African American; p = 0.012), and utilization of sentinel lymph node biopsy (Caucasian = 75%, African American = 42%; p = 0.026). Breast cancer in African American women traditionally presents at a more advanced stage and with poor prognostic features. However, when matched for lower socioeconomic status, racial disparities essentially disappear.
Socioeconomic factors and breast cancer in black and white Americans
Cancer and Metastasis Reviews - CANCER METAST REV, 2003
The incidence of breast cancer in the US is known to be higher among white than black women and among women of higher socioeconomic status (SES), but once a woman, either black or white, has the disease, she is more likely to have a recurrence and to die of breast cancer if she is of lower socioeconomic status. Explanations for these observed differences are varied and inconsistent making it clear that these reported differentials are not sufficiently understood. In understanding breast cancer in a multicultural setting, delay in diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment are frequently the focus of attention. However these factors do not sufficiently explain the observed differences between blacks and whites. A review of recent literature reveals an increasing focus on the role of SES in breast cancer etiology and progression; however, the confounding of SES with race/ethnicity (black vs. white) contributes to the insufficient understanding of the effect of these two factors. This report ...
Racial disparities in breast cancer outcome
Cancer, 2007
Since the 1970s, overall age-adjusted breast cancer mortality rates in the U.S. have been higher among African American (AA) women than among Caucasian American (CA) women. The racial disparity is not fully explainable based on socioeconomic factors. Suspected biologic factors underlying this trend may be interpreted by both epidemiologic and clinical perspectives. Descriptive epidemiologic studies suggest that breast cancer may be a mixture of at least 2 main diseases and/or causal pathways. The first breast cancer is early-onset, with peak incidence near age 50 years and generally more aggressive outcome. The second breast cancer is late-onset, with peak incidence near age 70 years and more indolent course. The early-onset type of breast cancer is overrepresented among AA women compared with CA women. Clinical studies suggest that the course of breast cancer may be characterized by a common pathway through sequential dormant and active states eventually resulting in clustered appearance of clinical metastases. A balance between tumor and host traits influences the pace of the common pathway. Therefore, the recurrence risk profile of a single patient is seemingly determined by a specific mix of hierarchical prognostic factors, resulting from the unique genetic, environmental, or behavioral traits of that individual, which may be affected by race-related factors. We suggest that the components of the AA versus CA disparity not attributable to socioeconomic factors are a particular case of the more general issue of host-tumor interaction and that epidemiologic and clinical views are complementary; each is observing biologic parameters, which are not completely captured by the other. A 'unifying hypothesis' incorporating findings from genetics, epidemiology, and clinical studies should be aggressively pursued.
Assessing the Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality in the United States
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths among women aged 40-55 in the United States and currently affects more than one in ten women worldwide. It is also one of the most diagnosed cancers in women both in wealthy and poor countries. Fortunately, the mortality rate from breast cancer has decreased in recent years due to increased emphasis on early detection and more effective treatments in White population. Although the mortality rates have declined in some ethnic populations, the overall cancer incidence among African American and Hispanic populations has continued to grow. The goal of the present review article was to highlight similarities and differences in breast cancer morbidity and mortality rates primarily among African American women compared to White women in the United States. To reach our goal, we conducted a search of articles in journals with a primary focus on minority health, and authors who had published articles on racial/ethnic disparity related to breast cancer patients. A systematic search of original research was conducted using MEDLINE, PUBMED and Google Scholar databases. We found that racial/ethnic disparities in breast cancer may be attributed to a large number of clinical and non-clinical risk factors including lack of medical coverage, barriers to early detection and screening, more advanced stage of disease at diagnosis among minorities, and unequal access to improvements in cancer treatment. Many African American women have frequent unknown or unstaged breast cancers than White women. These risk factors may explain the differences in breast cancer treatment and survival rate between African American women and White women. New strategies and approaches are needed to promote breast cancer prevention, improve survival rate, reduce breast cancer mortality, and ultimately improve the health outcomes of racial/ethnic minorities.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women (accounting for approximately 27% of all new noncutaneous cancers in women) and the second most common cause of cancerrelated death among women in the United States. The lifetime occurrence of breast cancer was recently reported as approximately 1 in 8 women. 1 Annual mammographic screening has improved the detection of breast cancer at earlier stages with a concurrent decrease in mortality. 2 Several studies have looked at various factors that might play a potential prognostic role in this disease, including age at diagnosis, histology, and race. All of these factors have been correlated with differences in mortality rates among various population groups.
Racial disparities in breast cancer mortality in a multiethnic cohort in the Southeast
Cancer, 2011
Background-Although much has been done to examine those factors associated with higher mortality among African American women, there is a paucity of literature which examines disparities among rural African Americans in South Carolina. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association of race and mortality among BrCA patients in a large cohort residing in South Carolina for which treatment regimens are standardized for all patients. Methods-Subjects included 1209 women diagnosed with BrCA between 2000-2002 at a large, local hospital containing a comprehensive breast center. Kaplan Meier survival curves were calculated to determine survival rates among AA and EA women, stratified by disease stage or other prognostic characteristics. Adjusting for various characteristics, Cox multivariable survival models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) Results-The 5-year overall all-cause mortality survival proportion was ~78% for AA women and ~89% for EA women, p<0.01. In analyses of sub-populations of women with identical disease characteristics, AA women had significantly higher mortality than EA women for the same type of breast cancer disease. In multivariable models, AA women had significantly higher mortality than EA women for both BrCA specific death (HR = 2.41; 1.21-4.79) and all-cause mortality (HR = 1.42; 1.06-1.89). Conclusion-AA women residing in rural South Carolina had lower survival for breast cancer even after adjustment for disease-related prognostic characteristics. Impact-These findings support health interventions among AA BrCA patients aimed at tertiary prevention strategies or further down-staging of disease at diagnosis.
Ethnicity and Breast Cancer: Factors Influencing Differences in Incidence and Outcome
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2005
Background: The lower breast cancer incidence in minority women and the higher breast cancer mortality in African American women than in white women are largely unexplained. The infl uence of breast cancer risk factors on these differences has received little attention. Methods: Racial/ethnic differences in breast cancer incidence and outcome were examined in 156 570 postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative. Detailed information on breast cancer risk factors including mammography was collected, and participants were followed prospectively for breast cancer incidence, pathological breast cancer characteristics, and breast cancer mortality. Comparisons of breast cancer incidence and mortality across racial/ethnic groups were estimated as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confi dence intervals (CIs) from Cox proportional hazard models. Tumor characteristics were compared as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confi dence intervals in logistic regression models. Results: After median follow-up of 6.3 years, 3938 breast cancers were diagnosed. Age-adjusted incidences for all minority groups (i.e., African American, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian/Pacifi c Islander) were lower than for white women, but adjustment for breast cancer risk factors accounted for the differences for all but African Americans (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.61 to 0.92) corresponding to 29 cases and 44 cases per 10 000 person years for African American and white women, respectively. Breast cancers in African American women had unfavorable characteristics; 32% of those in African Americans but only 10% in whites were both high grade and estrogen receptor negative (adjusted OR = 4.70, 95% CI = 3.12 to 7.09). Moreover, after adjustment for prognostic factors, African American women had higher mortality after breast cancer than white women (HR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.05 to 3.05) corresponding to nine and six deaths per 10 000 person-years from diagnosis in African American and white women, respectively. Conclusion: Differences in breast cancer incidence rates between most racial/ethnic groups were largely explained by risk factor distribution except in African Americans. However, breast cancers in African American women more commonly had characteristics of poor prognosis, which may contribute to their increased mortality after diagnosis.
BMC Cancer, 2013
Background: Racial disparities in breast cancer survival have been well documented. This study examines the association of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) on breast cancer-specific mortality in a large population of women with invasive breast cancer. Methods: We identified 179,143 cases of stages 1-3 first primary female invasive breast cancer from the California Cancer Registry from January, 2000 through December, 2010. Cox regression, adjusted for age, year of diagnosis, grade, and ER/PR/HER2 subtype, was used to assess the association of race/ethnicity on breast cancer-specific mortality within strata of stage and SES. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals were reported. Results: Stage 1: There was no increased risk of mortality for any race/ethnicity when compared with whites within all SES strata. Stage 2: Hispanics (HR = 0.85; 0.75, 0.97) in the lowest SES category had a reduced risk of mortality.. Blacks had the same risk of mortality as whites in the lowest SES category but an increased risk of mortality in the intermediate (HR = 1.66; 1.34, 2.06) and highest (HR = 1.41; 1.15, 1.73) SES categories. Stage 3: Hispanics (HR = 0.74; 0.64, 0.85) and APIs (HR = 0.64; 0.50, 0.82) in the lowest SES category had a reduced risk while blacks had similar mortality as whites. Blacks had an increased risk of mortality in the intermediate (HR = 1.52; 1.20, 1.92) and highest (HR = 1.53; 1.22, 1.92) SES categories. Conclusions: When analysis of breast cancer-specific mortality is adjusted for age and year of diagnosis, ER/PR/HER2 subtype, and tumor grade and cases compared within stage and SES strata, much of the black/white disparity disappears. SES plays a prominent role in breast cancer-specific mortality but it does not fully explain the racial/ethnic disparities and continued research in genetic, societal, and lifestyle factors is warranted.