Racial and Ethnic Differences in Breast Cancer: Eliminating Disparity
Women from different ethnic groups have different rates of breast cancer, different results from treatment, and different death rates. There may be important differences in the biology of the disease. Research into these questions can help reduce inequality among women with breast cancer and among those at risk for the disease in the future. It may also uncover important information about breast cancer that could point to new methods of prevention and treatment, or even a cure. California, with its many diverse ethnic groups, provides one of the best resources in the nation, or the world, for this type of research. This is a new Priority Issue this year.
Research Initiated in 2002
Weight Loss in Public Hospital Breast Cancer Patients.
Women who are obese or who gain weight after they are diagnosed with breast cancer are more likely to have a recurrence or die, compared to women who are not overweight. Roman Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., at the Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute, Los Angeles, is investigating whether a weight loss program for overweight breast cancer patients at a public hospital can change these women's hormone levels in a way that may reduce the risk that their breast cancer will recur.
Can Placenta Factors Explain Race Patterns of Breast Cancer?
During pregnancy, the placenta is the organ that regulates a baby's growth and the production of hormones responsible for changes in a woman's body. Barbara A. Cohn, Ph.D., at the Public Health Institute, Berkeley, has previously discovered that if a woman's placenta has certain characteristics, she has strong protection against breast cancer 40 years later. Her research showed this to be true only for white women. In this project, she will compare characteristics of placentas of Asian, Hispanic, African American and white women who were pregnant between 1959 and 1967 to see if differences explain the ethnic groups' varied rates of breast cancer.
Immune-Function Genes and Race Differences in Breast Cancer.
Sally Glaser, Ph.D., at the Northern California Cancer Center, Union City, is comparing a type of gene involved in immune function called HLA among California women from various ethnic groups. Some of the women have breast cancer and some do not. The goal is to see if HLA genes are responsible for some or all of the differences in breast cancer rates among women from various ethnic groups.
