A new meta-study shows that Black women are 40% more likely than white women to die from all types of breast cancer, and researchers say the reason why has little to do with biology, reports NBC News. The study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that racial disparities factored more into cancer deaths than was previously believed. Details:
- The study: Massachusetts General Hospital researchers analyzed data from 18 studies involving 228,885 breast cancer patients, with a focus on mortality rates across different cancer subtypes. It found that Black women (who accounted for 34,000 of those studied) had higher death rates for all subtypes examined, even when they were diagnosed at similar rates to white women, per a release from Mass General.
- Higher mortality: Different breast cancer subtypes affect tumor behavior and treatment response. Triple-negative breast cancers are most aggressive, and Black women were diagnosed with them more frequently, which seemed to indicate why they would have higher mortality rates. But new these findings revealed they also had the highest death rates for all types of cancers, even the most treatable ones. The higher incidence of triple-negative diagnoses is a factor, but “based on these results, it isn’t a significant or even a primary reason” for the disparity, says lead author Erica Warner, per NBC.
- Societal factors: Systemic factors weigh into why a cancer diagnosis is more lethal for Black women, including wealth disparities, insurance coverage, late diagnoses, less access to care, and a lack of inclusion in clinical trials,” says Warner, via CBS News. “To achieve equity, intervention is necessary at multiple levels, from community to health care systems and individual healthcare providers, to patients themselves learning about their disease and what their expectations should be for their care.”
(Another study suggests that lifestyle changes could avert 40% of new cancer cases.)
