MyBlack^® Health

African Ancestry, Breast Cancer Linked

A new study finds that African ancestry is linked to a more aggressive type of cancer called "triple negative."

Source: Los Angeles Times

A new study finds that African ancestry is linked to a more aggressive type of cancer that is more deadly.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor found that, among women with breast cancer, 82 percent of African women had the breast cancer called "triple negative," 26 percent of African-Americans had the variety, and 16 percent of white Americans had it.

In technical terms: Triple negative breast cancer is negative for three markers used to determine treatment: the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and HER-2/neu. Recent advances in breast cancer treatments target each of the receptors, but targeting all three is a major problem, said Dr. Lisa A. Newman, director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"Outcome disparities are therefore likely to increase, because fewer African-American women are candidates for these newer treatments," she said.

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