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TUESDAY, June 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) – The rates of genetic mutations linked to breast cancer in black and white women are the same, according to a new study that contradicts previous research.
He found that about 5% of both groups of women have a genetic mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer.
“The results call into question earlier, smaller studies that found black women face a higher genetic risk and the suggestion that race should be an independent factor when considering genetic testing,” said the First author of the study, Dr. Susan Domchek, executive director of the Basser Center for BRCA at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We shouldn’t change testing guidelines based on race alone,” she said in a college press release. “Rather, our efforts should focus on equal access and use of tests to minimize disparities in care and outcomes.”
Compared to white women, black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 or estrogen receptor negative and triple negative (ER) breast cancer.
It was not clear whether this was due to racial differences in genetic mutations linked to breast cancer, which is uncertain whether race should help guide genetic testing.
Of the nearly 4,000 black women and over 25,000 white women included in the study, there was no statistically significant difference in genetic mutations linked to breast cancer. They were found in 5.65% of black women and almost 5.1% of white women.
For black and white women, younger age and ER-negative breast cancer were risk factors in genes most strongly associated with breast cancer, including BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2.
Researchers also found that black women are much less likely to undergo genetic counseling and testing, largely due to differences in doctor recommendations or access to care.
The results were published on June 11 in the journal JAMA Oncology.
The Basser Center launched its “Black & BRCA” initiative in 2020 to provide tailor-made resources and support to the black community for genetic counseling and testing.
“In an age where black men and women are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer in later stages when it is less treatable, Black & BRCA seeks to empower people to understand their family history and take steps to prevent cancer from one generation to the next. then, ”said Domchek.
More information
The National Cancer Institute in the United States has more on breast cancer.
SOURCE: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, press release, June 11, 2021
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