May 23rd 2024.
A team of researchers has recently embarked on a new study to unravel the reasons behind the alarming increase in breast cancer diagnoses among Black women. While previous studies have shed light on how genetics can influence one's risk of developing breast cancer, most of these studies have focused on individuals of European descent, leaving many unanswered questions for the Black community. In an effort to fill this gap, the team from Nature Genetics has published a study that delves into the disease in nearly 40,000 people of African descent.
The study, which pooled data from 30 different studies investigating breast cancer in Black individuals, revealed some striking findings. Out of the 40,000 participants, 18,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer, while the remaining 22,000 had healthy results. "When we first embarked on this study in 2016, there were only a few thousand cases of breast cancer among Black Americans, which was a very small number," shared Wei Zheng, the senior investigator of the study and a cancer epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University.
Through their analysis, the researchers were able to identify specific genetic variations that were significantly associated with breast cancer. In particular, they identified twelve key locations in the genome, known as loci, that showed a strong link to breast cancer. Furthermore, the team also pinpointed variants of three genes that seemed to be correlated with an increased risk of triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive subtypes of the disease.
Since most individuals have two copies or alleles of each gene, it is possible for someone to have anywhere between one and six risk-related alleles of these three genes. The study found that those who had all six risk-related alleles were roughly twice as likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer compared to those with only three risk-related alleles. While this may seem alarming, the researchers believe that these findings can actually be beneficial in predicting and understanding the biology of this aggressive form of breast cancer.
Julie Palmer, a cancer researcher at Boston University and co-author of the study, expressed her excitement about these revelations. "Finally, we have enough data to dive deeper into estrogen-negative and triple-negative breast cancer, which are twice as common in the African American population compared to other populations," she said.
In addition to these discoveries, the team also uncovered another variation after using the same data to develop a breast cancer risk prediction model specifically for Black individuals. This model takes into account various genetic variants that can contribute to a higher risk of breast cancer. All these variants are combined into a polygenic risk score, which has previously performed better for white individuals than Black individuals. However, the team's model showed promising results, with an AUC (a measure of the model's performance) of 0.63 for white individuals and 0.58 for those with African ancestry.
Meanwhile, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is also conducting a similar study called "Voices of Black Women". According to ABC News, this study aims to uncover the reasons behind the disproportionately high rates of cancer in Black women. Launched on May 7, the study is being touted as the largest-ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women in the United States.
Dr. Alpa Patel, the senior vice president of population science at ACS, shared that the study will collect data from 100,000 Black women aged 25 to 55 over a span of 30 years. This data will include information on medical history, income, environment, and lifestyle, among others. "We will build a relationship and go on a journey with these women over the next several decades, learning about their experiences and collecting information along the way," Dr. Patel said.
Data collected by the ACS has already shown that Black women are more likely to die from cancer than women of other races, even when diagnosed at the same stage and before the age of 50. In fact, Black women are twice as likely to die from a breast cancer diagnosis compared to white women. These findings highlight the urgency and importance of understanding the unique risk factors and experiences of Black women when it comes to cancer. With the help of these groundbreaking studies, we can hope for better prevention, detection, and treatment strategies for breast cancer in the Black community.
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