Breast Cancer Mortality Higher in Hispanic Women

Hispanic women are more likely to die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to research presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“This difference may be associated with a tumor phenotype that is less responsive to chemotherapy,” said Kathy B. Baumgartner, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and associate dean for faculty affairs in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. “Increased awareness of this ethnic disparity is needed to improve survival in Hispanic women with breast cancer.”

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and is the second cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Incidence and survival rates vary by ethnicity, and previous research has demonstrated a trend toward poorer survival in Hispanic women.

From 1992 to 1996, Baumgartner and colleagues conducted the New Mexico Women’s Health Study (NMWHS), a statewide, population-based, case-control breast cancer study that examined the difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women for breast cancer risk. In all, 692 women with a first primary breast cancer participated.

In a recent study, researchers followed the 577 women with invasive breast cancer through 2008 to assess differences in long-term survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in the NMWHS.

Hispanic women were about 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, which is consistent with other reports, Baumgartner said. After adjusting for age, stage, lymph node involvement and estrogen receptor (ER) status, the researchers saw the risk drop considerably to almost equal that of non-Hispanic white women - suggesting that “the ethnic difference in breast cancer mortality may be mostly biologically based,” Baumgartner said.

Incidence & Mortality

From 2004-2008, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the breast was 61 years of age. Approximately 0.0% were diagnosed under age 20; 1.9% between 20 and 34; 10.2% between 35 and 44; 22.6% between 45 and 54; 24.4% between 55 and 64; 19.7% between 65 and 74; 15.5% between 75 and 84; and 5.6% 85+ years of age.

The age-adjusted incidence rate was 124.0 per 100,000 women per year. These rates are based on cases diagnosed in 2004-2008 from 17 SEER geographic areas.

Incidence Rates by Race Race

All Races 124.0 per 100,000 women
White 127.3 per 100,000 women
Black 119.9 per 100,000 women
Asian/Pacific Islander 93.7 per 100,000 women
American Indian/Alaska Native 77.9 per 100,000 women