A new study found that pre-menopausal black women have twice the risk of developing a more aggressive form of breast cancer than other women. Even though African-American women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer in general than white women, their mortality rate is higher – especially for younger black women.

Basal-like breast tumors, which are particularly aggressive, are more common among black women under the age of 50 than other women. The study found that less aggressive breast tumors are less common among black pre-menopausal women.

You can read about this study, carried out by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), June 7 issue.

The findings highlight the importance of providing more individual therapies. Breast cancer is not just one disease. It is the name of a disease that can present itself in many different forms. As medical knowledge advances in this area, experts will be better able to predict what type of treatments different individuals may need. To eventually provide patients with better targeted therapies is essential for improving the survival rates for breast cancer patients.

A year ago, the same people who carried out this research, identified the more aggressive basal-like subtype. Charles Perou, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, and one of the authors of this study, said the basal-like subtype is essentially a new type of breast cancer.

Researchers gathered data from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study which contains one of the largest US databases on black women with breast cancer. They were trying to find out whether incidences of the basal-like subtype were higher for some women.

Here are some facts they found:

Percentage of breast cancer patients with the Basal-like subtype (the more aggressive form)

39% – Pre-menopausal black women
14% – Post-menopausal black women
16% – White women of all ages

Percentage of breast cancer patients with the Luminal A subtype (the less aggressive form)

36% – Pre-menopausal black women
59% – Post-menopausal black women
54% – White women of all ages

The scientists said the findings show that genetic patterns are different in younger African-American women.

New drugs which depend less on chemotherapy are not effective in treating basal-like breast tumors. However, experts believe more targeted medications will come. For the moment, the only therapy available is a combination of surgery and chemotherapy.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today