Race
& Ethnic Heritage as a Risk Factor in Breast Cancer
Studies
do not explain why, but there are clear differences in breast cancer risk
depending on race, ethnicity and nationality.
- Asian
women have a statistically lower risk of breast cancer than other ethnic
groups. One explanation that has been suggested for this is diet. The
consumption of soy products, fish and plant oils, and other foods from
vegetable and fruit groups in the Asian diet may reduce estrogen activity
or retard the growth of tumors through a chemical interaction. When
Asian women are assimilated into the American/European culture their
rates of breast cancer increase.
- Latino
women have a diet high in beans and grains which also tends to inhibit
estrogenic activity. This may be part of the reason that the breast
cancer incidence in Latinas is lower than that of Caucasian women.
- In the
U.S., white women have a higher incidence rate than African American
women - 112 compared to 101 per 100,000 cases. However, among women
younger than 45, the reverse is true.
- African
American women are more likely to die from the disease - a phenomenon
some researchers have attributed to the fact that African American women
are often diagnosed at a later and more advanced stage than white women.
Other research suggests that tumors in African American women are more
aggressive and respond differently to estrogen.
also
see -> Does
Race Matter in Breast Cancer?
Elsewhere
on the Web:
Breast
Cancer : U.S. Racial/Ethnic Cancer Patterns
Breast
Cancer - Race & Ethnicity
NCC
Research Studies - Race / Ethnicity
