Filipino newcomers to Canada diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age. February 24, 2015. St. Michael’s Hospital. Toronto.
Filipinos who move to Canada are diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age than women from other parts of East Asia or Caucasians, new research has found. They are also more likely to be diagnosed with a more aggressive form of cancer and are more likely to undergo a mastectomy, according to a paper published online in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.
Breast Cancer Amongst Filipino Migrants : A Review of the Literature and Ten-Year Institutional Analysis. June 2015. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Volume 17, Issue 3.
As one migrates from an area of low to high incidence of breast cancer their personal risk of developing breast cancer increases. This is however not equally distributed across all races and ethnicities. This paper specifically examines Filipino migrants. A literature review was conducted to summarize breast cancer incidence, screening practices and trends in treatment amongst Filipino migrants.
Breast cancer in South Asian women often diagnosed at later stage : study. April 20, 2015. The Canadian Press.
Women of South Asian descent are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer in its later stages compared to the general population, while women of Chinese ethnicity tend to be diagnosed when the disease is at an early stage, an Ontario study has found. Given that Canadians have equal access to health services, the findings suggest programs to promote screening and early diagnosis among South Asian women should take into account cultural factors that may be roadblocks to seeking timely care, the researchers say.
A population-based study of ethnicity and breast cancer stage at diagnosis in Ontario. 2015. Current Oncology, Vol 22, NO 2.
Breast cancer stage at diagnosis is an important predictor of survival. Our goal was to compare breast cancer stage at diagnosis (by American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria) in Chinese and South Asian women with stage at diagnosis in the remain- ing general population in Ontario.
Young black women less likely to survive breast cancer. October 23, 2013. Cancer Research UK.
Young black women in the UK diagnosed with breast cancer aged 40 or younger have poorer overall survival than white women in the same age group, according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the British Journal of Cancer. The researchers, based at the University of Southampton, found that young black women have a higher risk of breast cancer coming back than white women, despite having the same access to healthcare.
Ethnicity and outcome of young breast cancer patients in the United Kingdom : The POSH study. October 22, 2013. British Journal of Cancer.
Black ethnic groups have a higher breast cancer mortality than Whites. American studies have identified variations in tumour biology and unequal health-care access as causative factors. We compared tumour pathology, treatment and outcomes in three ethnic groups in young breast cancer patients treated in the United Kingdom.
Triple negative breast cancer more likely to be diagnosed in black women, regardless of socioeconomic status. May 12, 2014. American Cancer Society.
An analysis of a large nationwide dataset finds that regardless of their socioeconomic status, black women were nearly twice as likely as white women to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype that has a poorer prognosis. Triple-negative breast cancers are those whose cells lack estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors, and do not have an excess of the HER2 protein on their surfaces. Triple-negative breast cancers tend to grow and spread more quickly than most other types of breast cancer, and a lack of these receptors limits treatment options.
Why is breast cancer becoming deadlier for black women? October 31, 2015. The Guardian.
Why is breast cancer so much deadlier in black women than in white women? On the heels of an alarming new report that black women have caught up with their white counterparts in breast cancer rates, the question has taken on a fresh urgency. But the answer is elusive.
Does ethnicity affect breast cancer biology? March 10, 2016. The European Cancer Organisation.
Although breast cancer is somewhat more aggressive in South Asian and Black women than in White women, this is largely due to age differences between ethnic groups in the UK, according to new research.
Dr Toral Gathani, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, told the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-10) today (Thursday) that findings from the largest study to date of tumour characteristics in relation to ethnicity suggested that inherent differences in tumour biology between the ethnic groups were unlikely to play a role.
Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer : a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK. March 13, 2015. BMJ Open.
There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews.
Differences in breast cancer stage at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival by race and ethnicity in the United States. January 13, 2015. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
Abstract
IMPORTANCE: Women with early-stage breast cancers are expected to have excellent survival rates. It is important to identify factors that predict diagnosis of early-stage breast cancers.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of breast cancers that were identified at an early stage (stage I) in different racial/ethnic groups and whether ethnic differences may be better explained by early detection or by intrinsic biological differences in tumor aggressiveness.
Study : Black women more likely to die from breast cancer. January 13, 2015. The Canadian Press.
Race may influence whether women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive, suggests a new study which found black women are more likely to die even when their tumours are found when they are small and theoretically easier to treat. The study, which is based on U.S. data, said that even when breast cancer is diagnosed at Stage 1, black women have a higher risk of dying than women of Japanese ethnicity or white women.
Racial disparities in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment by hormone receptor and HER2 status. October 13, 2015. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Healt.
Abstract
Background: African American and Hispanic women are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive forms of breast cancer. Disparities within each subtype of breast cancer have not been well documented.
Methods: Using data from 18 SEER cancer registries, we identified 102,064 women aged 20 years or older, diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2010–2011, and with known stage, hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 status. Associations between race/ethnicity and cancer stage and receipt of guideline concordant treatment were evaluated according to HR/HER2 status.
Disparities in Breast Cancer Persist Across All Subtypes and Stages. October 13, 2015.
Minority women were more likely to have aggressive subtypes of breast cancer and were more likely to receive non-guideline concordant treatment when compared with non-Hispanic white women, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The environmental injustice of beauty : framing chemical exposures from beauty products as a health disparities concern. August 2017. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The obstetrics-gynecology community has issued a call to action to prevent toxic environmental chemical exposures and their threats to healthy human reproduction. Recent committee opinions recognize that vulnerable and underserved women may be impacted disproportionately by environmental chemical exposures and recommend that reproductive health professionals champion policies that secure environmental justice. Beauty product use is an understudied source of environmental chemical exposures.
Associations between personal care product use patterns and breast cancer risk among white and black women in the sister study. February 21, 2018. Environmental Health Perspectives.
There is concern that use of personal care products (e.g., cosmetics, lotions, and fragrances) may be associated with breast cancer risk (Brody et al. 2007). These products are a possible source of human exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates, parabens, and phenols (Braun et al. 2014; Dodson et al. 2012; Meeker et al. 2013). Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been hypothesized to mimic the carcinogenic effects of estrogenic exposures (Chen 2008; Morgan et al. 1998). For example, phthalates, an ingredient commonly used in personal care products, have been associated with risk of breast cancer (López-Carrillo et al. 2010; Shanle and Xu 2011). However, endocrine-disrupting chemicals have a much lower affinity to the estrogen receptor (ER) than does estradiol (Shanle and Xu 2011).
Chemical injustice : the unequal burden of toxic chemicals on women of color and low-income families. February 6, 2015. Reproductive Health Technologies Project., National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.
Toxic chemicals that harm reproductive health are found in many of the products we use every day, from plastic bottles and bath products to couch cushions and blue jeans. However, the harms caused by these toxic products are not shared equally. Low-income women and women of color shoulder far more than their fair share - they are much more likely to be directly exposed to toxic chemicals at work, at home and through consumer products. Increased exposure to these chemicals means these women are also more likely to experience early puberty, infertility, uterine fibroids, and other reproductive health problems that have been linked to toxic chemicals.
Dark hair dye and chemical relaxers linked to breast cancer. July 12, 2017. Reuters.
African-American and white women who regularly chemically straightened their hair or dyed it dark brown or black had an elevated risk of breast cancer, recent research suggests.
“I would be concerned about darker hair dye and hair straighteners,” epidemiologist Tamarra James-Todd said after reviewing the report in Carcinogenesis. “We should really think about using things in moderation and really try to think about being more natural.