Complain about a product or service

Hispanic Women Three Times More Likely to Develop Advanced Breast Cancer

Study Finds Hispanic Women Also Diagnosed at an Earlier Age

By Lola Quintela
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 16, 2007

Breast Cancer • Recommended Changes to Breast Cancer Screenings Cause Controversy • Optical Biopsy Provides Surgery-Free Diagnosis • Breast Cancer Lawsuit Alleged Needless Suffering, Death • New Chemo Cocktail Blocks Breast Cancer 'Like A Fence' • Physically Fit Women Less Likely To Die Of Breast Cancer • No Link Found Between Caffeine and Breast Cancer Risk • Older Women at Greater Risk of Breast Cancer • Companies Agree To Cut Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Potato Chips • What Women -- and Men -- Should Know about Breast Cancer • Daily Aspirin May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer • FDA Approves New Genetic Test for Breast Cancer • Gene Mutation Spreads Breast Cancer • Research Finds Green Tea Helpful Against Breast Cancer • Marijuana Compound May Fight Breast Cancer • Mayo Clinic Sees New Hope In Breast Cancer Drug • FDA Approves Evista For Reducing Breast Cancer Risk • Side Effects Drive Women from Breast Cancer Drug • Hypnosis Reduces Pain and Costs in Breast Cancer Surgery • Grapefruit Linked to Breast Cancer • Study Finds No Link Between Abortion, Miscarriage and Breast Cancer • Falling Breast Cancer Rates Linked to Declining Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy • Hispanic Women Three Times More Likely to Develop Advanced Breast Cancer • MRI Screening of Opposite Breast Necessary for Women with Breast Cancer • FDA Approves Tykerb for Advanced Breast Cancer Patients • FDA Clears New Breast Cancer Test • Needle Biopsy May Not Be Enough to Rule Out Breast Cancer in Some Cases • Red Meat May Increase Breast Cancer Risk • Breast Cancer Survivors Skipping Mammograms, Study Finds • Breast Implant Complications Frequent, Study Finds • Tests Show Drug Fights Aggressive Breast Cancer • California Sues to Require Cancer Warnings on Potato Chips and French Fries • Study Ties Fries To Breast Cancer Risk • Low-Fat Diet May Reduce Risk of Recurrent Breast Cancer • Study Suggests Pain Reliever, Breast Cancer Link • Trials Show Herceptin Aids Breast Cancer Recovery • That Pink Ribbon Can Be Misleading, Consumer Group Warns • Survival Better When Breast Cancer Detected Through Mammography

A joint study by researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCD) and Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPC), finds that Hispanic women are almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer than non-Hispanic women.

The study will be published in the May 15 issue of Cancer, the medical journal of the American Cancer Society.

The differences were observed even after the researchers adjusted for factors such as socioeconomic status, the length of time that the women had been enrolled in the managed health care system, and regular checkups.

The study, conducted between 1995 and 2004, included 139 Hispanic women and 2,118 non-Hispanic breast cancer patients. They were all interviewed in Colorado, where they lived.

The researchers observed that the Hispanic patients were diagnosed with more advanced and more aggressive breast cancer. Hispanics were nearly three times more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV disease and twice as likely to have larger tumors, characteristics that result in poorer prognosis. In addition, more Hispanic patients had tumors that lack receptors for the hormone estrogen (ER-negative) which makes the disease more difficult to treat.

Moreover, the Hispanic patients were diagnosed at an earlier age, with an average age of 56 at the time of first diagnosis, compared to 61 for non-Hispanic patients.

The study compared demographic characteristics of the patients to determine if having health insurance affects differences in the presentation of the disease.

The authors of the study concluded that "the persistent findings…of advanced state, larger tumor size ... and fewer cases with estrogen receptors may suggest that true biological differences exist in breast cancer by ethnicity."

Previous research has shown that the incidence of breast cancer varies according to race and ethnicity.

About 203,500 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States this year. Surgery and chemotherapy are standard treatment options for most forms of breast cancer. Early detection is vital to increase the chances of survival, thus the American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older get a mammogram every year.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.