With the beginning of October, this month marks the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In honor of the month, here are five important facts Black women should know about breast cancer.
- Black women are more likely to be diagnosed at younger ages. In a new study, a set of researchers from global institutions recommended that Black women start screening for breast cancer eight years before the recommended age by the US Preventive Services Task Force.
Instead of starting screening at 50, the researchers claimed that Black women should start from the age of 42 due to higher diagnoses at younger ages. Groups such as the American Cancer Society have already updated their guidelines, already emphasizing that women should get annual mammograms starting from the age of 40.
- Social environment can affect the severity of cancer in Black women. In a study published last week by the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, researchers studied the cases of 1,575 Black female breast cancer survivors aged 20 to 75 years. In their results, they reported that neighborhood stressors led to carcinogenesis, such as inflammation and increased allostatic load.
- Early-stage breast cancer genomic tests may not be helping with diagnoses amongst Black women. A new report by authors at medical journal Stat News recently chronicled how the most commonly used 21-gene genomic test is less accurate for Black women. Citing a recent study, the authors reported that this genomic test was tied to inaccurate results, informing Black women that they had a low risk of their cancer returning. In fact, the women may have had a more aggressive cancer that required more therapy.
- Self-tests may not be as effective in early detection as previously thought. Per the Mayo Clinic, self-tests may not be as effective when trying to catch breast cancer in its earlier stages. While experts still believe there’s some value in conducting these self-tests, they haven’t been proven to be effective in detecting breast cancer and helping with better survival.
- Black women are more likely to be affected by triple-negative breast cancer. As Black women are more likely to have more aggressive forms of breast cancer, they record higher rates of triple-negative breast cancer. While triple-negative breast cancer makes up approximately 10% of overall breast cancer cases, 20% of Black women diagnosed with breast cancer have triple-negative breast cancer. This form of breast cancer is one of the hardest to treat as they don’t respond to hormonal therapy medicine that targets the HER2 protein due to their lack of production of the protein.
