Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer – study
Black women are about 40% more likely to die of breast cancer, but experts are now showing this applies to all forms of the disease and examine why.
Late on Tuesday evening American researchers from Mass General Brigham published their new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. They found that Black women are at a higher risk of dying from all tumour subtypes of breast cancer, with the size of this disparity varying from 17% to 50% depending on the type of breast cancer.
To conduct the research, experts examined data from 18 studies that were published between 2009 and 2022, analysing a total of 228,885 breast cancer cases, 34,262 of which were in Black women.
‘This findings underscore a stark reality in our healthcare system: Black women are facing higher risks of death from breast cancer compared to their white counterparts, across all types of the disease. This disparity isn’t just about biology,’ said co-author of the study, Paulette Chandler. ‘It’s a call to action for healthcare providers, policymakers, and communities alike to confront these inequities head-on and strive for meaningful change in breast cancer outcomes.’
Within the study, experts highlighted that socioeconomic inequality, delays in diagnosis and inadequate access to timely quality cancer treatment, could contribute to why Black women are less likely to survive the disease.
Erica Warner, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, said: ‘Our findings demonstrate that multiple, interacting factors contribute to disparities in breast cancer survival between Black and white women.
‘To achieve equity, intervention is necessary at multiple levels—from community to healthcare systems and individual healthcare providers, to patients themselves learning about their disease and what their expectations should be for their care.
‘There had been an anecdotal sense in the research community that differences in survival between Black and white women were greater for the most treatable forms of the disease—tumours that carry hormone receptors—and smaller for the historically less-treatable, hormone-negative tumours.’
However, researchers have claimed that these racial disparities are not inevitable. As well as using their study to raise awareness, experts have also pointed to several existing multilevel intervention programmes that have reduced disparities in cancer survival. These include ACCURE and the Equal Hope scheme.
Equally, Massachusetts General Hospital are also currently collaborating with Boston Medical Centre on a virtual Equity Hub for Cancer Treatment with the goal of improving cancer care for underserved patients at community-based mental health centres.
Image: Jessica Felicio
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