Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Tumor characteristics in African American and white women.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Furberg, H; Millikan, R; Dressler, L; Newman, B; Geradts, J
Published in: Breast Cancer Res Treat
July 2001

BACKGROUND: Previous studies provide evidence that breast cancers occurring in different age and ethnic groups are not evenly distributed with regard to their biologic, pathologic and clinical characteristics. We evaluated the distributions of 11 pathological and biological variables between African-American (AA) and white patients and between three different age groups (20-39, 40-59 and 60-74 years). We examined whether racial differences existed across levels of age. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS), a population-based, case-control study of breast cancer in North Carolina. Eighty hundred and sixty one women with a first diagnosis of invasive breast cancer participated in Phase I of the CBCS. Diagnostic paraffin blocks were obtained from 807 cases. One representative block was scored for histologic type and grade (architectural, nuclear, mitotic and overall). Medical chart review yielded tumor size, lymph node status, distant metastases, stage, hormone receptor status (ER/PR) and DNA ploidy. RESULTS: Pathologically advanced tumors (large size, high grade, high stage, ER/PR negative) were significantly more common in young and AA women. Racial differences varied by age. Among younger, AAs and whites differed only with respect to ER/PR status, while among older women AAs and whites differed only with respect to stage at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm the presence of poorer prognosis breast cancer among AA and younger women. They also highlight the need for age and race to be considered together when evaluating pathologic and biologic characteristics of disease and when making inferences regarding tumor aggressiveness.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Breast Cancer Res Treat

DOI

ISSN

0167-6806

Publication Date

July 2001

Volume

68

Issue

1

Start / End Page

33 / 43

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Women's Health
  • White People
  • Risk Factors
  • Oncology & Carcinogenesis
  • North Carolina
  • Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Middle Aged
  • Medical Records
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Furberg, H., Millikan, R., Dressler, L., Newman, B., & Geradts, J. (2001). Tumor characteristics in African American and white women. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 68(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1017994726207
Furberg, H., R. Millikan, L. Dressler, B. Newman, and J. Geradts. “Tumor characteristics in African American and white women.Breast Cancer Res Treat 68, no. 1 (July 2001): 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1017994726207.
Furberg H, Millikan R, Dressler L, Newman B, Geradts J. Tumor characteristics in African American and white women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2001 Jul;68(1):33–43.
Furberg, H., et al. “Tumor characteristics in African American and white women.Breast Cancer Res Treat, vol. 68, no. 1, July 2001, pp. 33–43. Pubmed, doi:10.1023/a:1017994726207.
Furberg H, Millikan R, Dressler L, Newman B, Geradts J. Tumor characteristics in African American and white women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2001 Jul;68(1):33–43.
Journal cover image

Published In

Breast Cancer Res Treat

DOI

ISSN

0167-6806

Publication Date

July 2001

Volume

68

Issue

1

Start / End Page

33 / 43

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Women's Health
  • White People
  • Risk Factors
  • Oncology & Carcinogenesis
  • North Carolina
  • Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Middle Aged
  • Medical Records
  • Humans