Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Afflicts Blacks - Scientists Look at Genes, Breast-Feeding Patterns [View All]

Source: Washington Post

Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Afflicts Blacks
Scientists Look at Genes, Breast-Feeding Patterns

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 23, 2007; A01



Lorie Williams thought for months that she might have a lump in her breast. But when the doctor said it was cancer, she was still stunned. After all, she was just 29 years old, no one in her family had ever had breast cancer, and she had never heard of anyone getting the disease so young.

"I was just numb," said Williams, who lives in Holly Springs, N.C. "I couldn't believe it was really happening. Then I just became hysterical."

Women such as Williams have become the focus of an intense effort to solve one of the most pressing mysteries about breast cancer: Why are black women, who are less likely to get the disease than white women, more likely to get it when they are young -- and much more likely to die from it?

Now, researchers have uncovered a crucial clue: Black women, particularly young ones, get hit much more often by an aggressive form of breast cancer that is invulnerable to many of the latest treatments.

That discovery, however, has raised a thicket of new questions and an intense debate. Are black women prone to the deadlier cancer for genetic reasons? The same deadly form of breast cancer turns out to be extremely common in parts of Africa where the slave trade was centered, indicating that genes play a role. Or is it something else? Researchers have also found evidence that other factors, such as breast-feeding patterns, may be key.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201902_pf.html

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If they are looking at breast feeding patters, maybe they should address prenatal education and get some health care coverage for the country.