African-American Women More Likely to Die of Breast Cancer
Published at
Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — African-American women with breast cancer are much more likely to die from it than women of other ethnic groups are, according to a new study from the American Association for Cancer Research.
“Our study provides the insight that is not the breast cancer subtype that explains the difference,” said researcher Candyce Kroenke, noting that the higher fatality rate was true across all breast cancer types, not just the much harder to treat “triple negative” type.
Researchers attempted to adjust their study to account for a variety of different factors, including smoking, lifestyle factors, and weight differences, but even adjusting for these factors didn’t explain the association. They admit that they don’t have a reason why this disparity in fatality rates exists.
Kroenke says that the big takeaway from the study is that there’s more research to be done.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio