Populations of Interest / African American Women For
decades, researchers have been aware that African American women tend
to be diagnosed with later stage breast cancer than white women and
that they are more likely to die from the disease. Statistics also
indicate that African American women under the age of 45 have a higher
incidence and mortality from breast cancer than white women under the
age of 45. The reasons for these differences in breast cancer incidence
and mortality remain unclear. One factor is undoubtedly lack of access
to quality care. But more recent studies on molecular markers have
established that African American women are more likely to have an
aggressive tumor even when it is small. These aggressive tumors tend to
be high-grade, large, and estrogen receptor-negative. They also have
often already spread to the lymph nodes by the time they are
discovered. How these factors influence treatment is a current ongoing
area of cancer research.
Statistics
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women.
Approximately
20,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed among African American
women each year. (Approximately 258,000 women are diagnosed with breast
cancer each year in the US.)
African American women ages 25 to 40 have a higher incidence of breast cancer than white women 25 to 40.
While
African American women over the age of 40 have a lower incidence of
breast cancer than white women, they are more likely to die from the
disease.
White
African American
Breast Cancer Incidence per 100,000 Women
137.0
120.77
Breast Cancer Mortality per 100,000 Women
29.3
37.3
Breast
cancer in African American women is often diagnosed at a more advanced
stage and tumors are likely to be more aggressive, which leads to a
poorer prognosis.
Approximately 5,700 African American women die of breast cancer each year.
The five-year survival rate for African American women is 73 percent compared to 88 percent among white women
Statistics from the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society.
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