HEALTH
Who Gets Breast Cancer? W
hat are the estimated numbers of new breast cancer cases and deaths in the
United States for the year 2010? About 207,090 new cases of invasive
breast cancer will occur among women in the United States during 2010. And an es- timated 39,840 women will die from breast cancer this year. Also, about 1,970 men will be diagnosed and 390 men will die of breast cancer during 2010 in the United States. In addition to invasive breast cancer, an estimated 54,010 new cases of in situ breast cancer will occur among women in 2010. How does breast cancer affect... African Americans Ashkenazi Jewish Women Asian Americans Hispanics/Latinas Native Americans Lesbians Older Women Younger Women Pregnant Women Men
African Americans Breast cancer is the most common can-
cer among African American women. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death among African American women, exceeded only by lung cancer. In 2009, an estimated 19,540 new cases of breast can- cer and 6,020 deaths were expected to oc- cur among African American women. Al- though breast cancer incidence is lower among African American women, they have a 38 percent higher breast cancer death rate than Caucasian women. Breast cancer survival in African American women has increased in recent decades. However, survival rates among African American women remain lower than among Caucasian women. From 1999- 2005 the five-year survival rate for breast cancer among African-American women was 79 percent compared to 91 percent among Caucasian women. There are many possible reasons for this difference in sur- vival. Biologic and genetic differences in
74 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN’S MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE
tumors, the presence of risk factors, barri- ers to health care access, health behaviors and later stage of disease at diagnosis may all play a role. It is important to know that mammography increases the chance that breast cancer will be found at the earliest, most treatable stages. Annual mammogra- phy screening and effective treatment of- fer the best chance for decreasing mortal- ity and improving survival. For more on African American ethnicity and breast cancer, visit the Risk Factors and Preven- tion and Early Detection and Screening sections.
Ashkenazi Jewish Women All women are at risk for breast cancer.
However, some groups of women are at a higher risk for getting breast cancer. Breast and ovarian cancer are somewhat more common among women of Ashke- nazi Jewish descent (ancestors who came from Central or Eastern Europe). Scien- tists have identified two specific genes that, when mutated, are important in the development of breast cancer. These genes are called Breast Cancer 1 and Breast Cancer 2 (BRCA1 and BRCA2, respec- tively).
Every woman has these genes, but
women who have inherited a mutated form of one or both genes are at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. While BRCA mutations are very rare in the gen- eral population, an estimated 1 in 40 Ash- kenazi Jewish persons, regardless of fam- ily history, carries one of these mutations [7-9]. Among the Ashkenazi population, three BRCA mutations are most common (185delAG, 5382insC in BRCA1 and 6174delT in BRCA2). If you are interested in genetic testing, talk with your health care provider. He/she can refer you to a genetic counselor. For information on ge- netic counseling, contact the National Cancer Institute or the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF DIVERSITY
Asian Americans Among Asian American and Pacific Is-
lander women, 2010 estimated breast can- cer incidence (81.6 per 100,000) and mor- tality rates (12.5 per 100,000) are lower than those for non-Hispanic white and Af- rican American women. Breast cancer is the leading cancer among Chinese (77.6 per 100,000), Filipino (100.4 per 100,000), Japanese (126.5 per 100,000) and Korean (53.5 per 100,000) women. Native Ha- waiian (175.8 per 100,000) and Samoan (102.5 per 100,000) women have the highest rates, which even exceed those in Caucasian women. Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in most Asian American and Pacific Islander women (lung cancer is the major cause of cancer death among most of these wom- en). Mammography screening rates re- main slightly lower among Asian Ameri- can and Pacific Islander women compared to non-Hispanic white women. However, most of this difference appears to be due to differences in socioeconomic status. Among women of similar socioeconomic status, rates are similar. For Asian Ameri- cans, new immigrants have a lower inci- dence of breast cancer than those who have lived in the U.S. for many years. And for those born in the U.S., breast cancer risk is similar to that of non-Hispanic white women (60 percent higher than women born in Asia).
Hispanics/Latinas Breast cancer is the most common can-
cer among Hispanic/Latina women. In 2010, estimated incidence is 90.2 per 100,000 Hispanic/Latina women) and es- timated mortality is 15.5 per 100,000 women. Hispanic/Latina women have lower breast cancer incidence and mortal- ity rates compared to non-Hispanic/Latina White women. However, they are less likely to have regular screening mammo- grams and to get prompt follow-up for an
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