Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys led a new study that explored why Black women with breast cancer have a higher mortality rate than white women with breast cancer. The researchers learned that there is a molecular difference between the processes for repairing damaged DNA within the cells. The results of the study indicate that doctors may need to adjust treatment plans for Black women with breast cancer to improve their chances of surviving. Less positive outcomes in Black women with breast cancer are due, at least in part, to racial disparities in healthcare.
The authors of one paperTrusted Source write, “Despite medical improvements in early detection, diagnosis, and screening, many Black women are less likely to obtain adequate treatment compared with white women.” new study, which appears in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology, indicates that biological factors may add to this disparity. he study examined genetic differences between Black women and white women and found that there is a difference in the cellular response to damaged DNA. Metastatic Breast Cancer: What You Should Know Hear from our medical experts about symptoms, treatment options, tips for living with metastatic cancer, and the outlook. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, in the United States, about 255,000 women develop breast cancer each year, and approximately 42,000 women die. Overall, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women.
The demographic data for 2018 indicated that the rate of breast cancer occurrence between Black women and white women was similar.
Among Black women, the rate of new breast cancer cases was 121.2 per 100,000 women. In comparison, among white women, the rate was 127.5 per 100,000. Although there was only a 5% difference in the breast cancer case rate between Black women and white women, the difference in mortality rate was much greater. According to the 2018 data, white women had a breast cancer mortality rate of 19.2 per 100,000 cases, and the mortality rate for Black women was 26.8 per 100,000 cases. This equates to an approximately 40% higher rate in Black women than in white women. Dr. Lola Fayanju speaks about breast cancer in a podcast with BreastCancer.orgTrusted Source, in which she notes the difference in mortality rate. Dr. Fayanju is the surgical director at Rena Rowan Breast Center in Philadelphia.
“In the United States, white women are actually the most likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer of any racial or ethnic group,” Dr. Fayanju says. “But there are significant disparities in terms of who is most likely to die from breast cancer, which is, for the most part, a highly curable disease.” “For early stage breast cancer, rates of survival are often greater than 90%, but among Women of Color, particularly African American women, we see much worse mortality rates, and that’s in part related to the fact that we have people presenting with later stage disease,” Dr. Fayanju explains.
Some studies indicate that socioeconomic statusTrusted Source is an important cause of the increased mortality rate.
