ATLANTA, Nov. 2 (UPI) — Breast cancer rates for African-American women are rising, two new studies said.
Between 2008 and 2012, the incidence of breast cancer for African-American women rose 0.4 percent per year. By 2012, the rate of breast cancer diagnosis for African-American women had risen to the point where it matched the the rate of diagnosis for white women, said the pair of studies by the American Cancer Society.
Rates for Asian and Pacific Islander women increased 1.5 percent per year, the studies found, while rates remained stable among Native American, Hispanic and white women. Though the rate of diagnosis had become the same between white and African-American women nationally, incidence rates were actually higher in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Published every two years by the American Cancer Society, the two studies are a detailed analysis of trends, risk factors and other relevant data about the disease and surviving it.
Despite lower rates of diagnosis over time, African-American women continue to have higher death rates and the rate is increasing. The study found that by 2012, African-American women had a 42 percent higher death rate than white women, with that trend likely to continue.
The Cancer Society said African-American women are more likely than other other racial or ethnic groups to be diagnosed at later stages and therefore have lower survival rates. Also, there is a higher rate of triple negative breast cancer diagnosis, which is an aggressive type of cancer with poor survival rates.
