African-American identity among women with a prior diagnosis of benign breast disease (BBD) is a significant risk factor for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.1
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of data to examine whether African-American identity was associated with TNBC among women with a prior diagnosis of BBD.
Researchers evaluated data from 2588 African-American women and 3566 white American women between the ages of 40 and 70 years who had a biopsy-proven diagnosis of BBD. Care was found to be delivered “equitably” between the 2 groups of women based on case management, follow-up and treatment outcomes.
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Among African-American women, the 10-year probability estimate for the development of TNBC was 0.56% compared to 0.25% among Caucasian women.
A total of 103 African-American women (4.1%) and 143 Caucasian women (4%) had developed subsequent breast cancers, with over three-fourths of these cancers between the 2 groups being ductal carcinoma in situ or stage I.
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Sixteen of 66 African-American women with subsequent invasive breast cancer and complete biomarker data had developed TNBC compared to 7 of 94 Caucasian women.
“This study is the largest analysis to date of TNBC in the context of racial/ethnic identity and BBD as risk factors,” the authors noted. “This finding suggests that African-American identity is associated with inherent susceptibility for TNBC pathogenetic pathways.”
Reference
- Newman LA, Stark A, Chitale D, et al. Association between benign breast disease in African American and white American women and subsequent triple-negative breast cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2016 Dec 22. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.5598 [Epub ahead of print]
