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Black women are no strangers to developing aggressive breast cancer—both inflammatory and triple-negative. These cancers are harder to treat and impact our survival rates. Read more about the types of aggressive cancers out there, how they impact black women, and new treatment developments.
A new study from Duke University School of Medicine, published last fall, delved into why younger Black women are disproportionately impacted by triple-negative breast cancer. Their findings point to one possible factor involving a molecular distinction in African American women under 50.
The exploratory study analyzed clinical, demographic, DNA methylation, and gene expression data from publicly available data repositories. The investigators found that African American women under age 50 had a unique DNA methylation profile compared to older African American women and white women of all ages.
Maggie DiNome, MD FACS, the study’s lead author, says, “This study shows us that we need to look a little closer at the molecular differences of breast cancers by race and ethnicity and not just assume that triple-negative breast cancer is necessarily the same cancer in all people.” The findings may help in the development of targeted treatments for younger Black women with aggressive breast cancers.
What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare form of breast cancer that accounts for less than 5 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses. It blocks the vessels in the skin that carry lymph fluid throughout the body. This form of cancer causes the breasts to look swollen and red.
Patients with inflammatory breast cancer may experience red and swollen breasts, bruised skin around the breasts, swollen lymph nodes in the underarms, burning sensations, and increased breast size. The skin may also look pitted like an orange because the fluid is all backed up, and the nipple may face inward.
How serious is it? Very. Women diagnosed with this form do not live as long as women with other types of this disease. Inflammatory breast cancer can develop and progress in a few weeks or months. For many women, when they are diagnosed with this form, they are already in stage III or IV, and the cancer may have spread to other lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
Even though it can be harder to treat, usually the first step is chemotherapy—a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells—then surgery to remove the tumors, followed up with radiation therapy. There has been a call by many researchers to get more funding to advance the current treatment
According to the NIH, 20% to 40% of patients with inflammatory breast cancer have triple-negative breast cancer.
What is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?
Triple-negative breast cancer lacks the most common receptors that fuel most breast cancer growth—estrogen, progesterone, and the HER-2/neu gene—making it “triple negative.” Because these tumors lack these receptors, it’s harder to treat this form of cancer with traditional hormone therapy. This cancer accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of all diagnoses.
This particular cancer doesn’t really look much different from other forms; it just has some different characteristics. Only testing will tell you if you have this form.
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