(Press-News.org) CHICAGO — Hispanic women in Puerto Rico who have triple-negative breast cancer share similar disease characteristics with Hispanic women in California, suggesting that race plays a significant role in the presentation of triple-negative breast cancer among Hispanic women.
These study results were presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 - April 4.
"We think the fact that our patients are geographically located outside the mainland and still have the same disease characteristics suggests that the biology of the disease plays a major role in how the disease is expressed in these patients compared with other factors that have been considered like socioeconomic status, access to treatment, etc.," said Edna M. Mora, M.D., associate professor in the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine department of surgery and the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"Based on our results, we speculate that the biology of the disease promotes the tumors to be more aggressive," she said. "Knowing that biology is important, because then we can develop different treatment strategies for the different subtypes of triple-negative cancers."
Overall, Hispanic women have a lower incidence of breast cancer, but among those who develop the disease, prognosis and survival are poor, Mora said.
In this cross-sectional study, the researchers analyzed data from 1,082 women with breast cancer who were diagnosed between 2000 and 2005. Mora and colleagues obtained data from hospital cancer registries and through a medical record review.
The prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer was 16.3 percent, which is comparable to the percentage among Hispanics in California, Mora said. Compared with women with HER2-negative, estrogen receptor-positive disease, patients in the triple-negative group were younger at diagnosis and had larger tumor size, invasive ductal histology and higher tumor grades.
Most importantly, these results showed that the HER2-negative patients whose tumors expressed estrogen receptors had a dramatically different disease presentation and better outcomes, Mora said.
"When the patient's tumor expressed estrogen receptor, it made a significant difference in terms of how the patient responds to therapy and behaves in terms of survival," she said.
###
Press registration for the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 is free to qualified journalists and public information officers: http://www.aacr.org/PressRegistration.
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
About the AACR
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR's membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 18,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policy makers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.
For more information about the AACR, visit http://www.AACR.org.
Presenter: Edna M. Mora, M.D.
Abstract Number: LB-325
Title: Characterization of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients among Hispanics in Puerto Rico
Author Block: Edna M. Mora, Erick Suarez, Orquidea Frias, Carmen Gonzalez-Keelan, David Capo, Fernando Cabanillas, Ana Patricia Ortiz. Univ. of Puerto Rico Cancer Ctr., San Juan, Puerto Rico, Hospital Auxilio Mutuo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Introduction: Hormone receptor status had been correlated with prognosis in breast cancer patients. Breast cancer patients with no expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and her-2 neu (her-2) have been grouped in the Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) category. At present, these patients have very limited adjuvant therapy alternatives. TNBC has been correlated with poor prognosis among African-American and Hispanic populations. However, there is very few data regarding the prevalence and characterization of TNBC among Hispanics groups (e.g. Puerto Ricans, Cubans, etc.). The objective of this study is to characterize the TNBC population among the Puerto Rican population and to assess whether expression of ER changes the characteristics of the disease in this group. We hypothesize that expression of ER+ in her-2 negative breast cancer tumors will change the initial presentation of the disease.
Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from female patients with breast cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2005, at the I. Gonzalez Martinez Hospital and the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital (n=1,082) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Information on Her-2 status and other clinical characteristics were retrieved from the hospital's cancer registries and from medical record review. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the participating hospitals. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between relevant clinical characteristics and TNBC. We also evaluated whether there were any interaction between age, tumor size and receptor status.
Results: The prevalence of TNBC in our study was 16.3% and 58.7% for the Her-2-ER+s phenotype. Patients in the TNBC group have a younger age (2cm) (70.3% vs 45.6%), invasive ductal histology (87.3% vs 68.7%), and higher tumor grades (III-IV) (49.7% vs 13.2%) compared to Her-2-ERs+. Using multinomial models, we found that, compared to TNBC, women with Her-2-ER+PR- and those with Her-2-ER+PR+ were 1.99 (CI95%=1.15,3.44) and 1.66 (CI95%= 1.11, 2.46) times more likely to have > 50 years at diagnosis as compared to those with 2cm. There was no interaction between receptor status, age and tumor size (p=0.582).
Conclusions: TNBC in Hispanics from Puerto Rican origin showed the same prevalence of Hispanic women in California. Furthermore, disease characteristics (early age at diagnosis, tumor size, histology and tumor grade) were also similar, suggesting that race has a significant effect in the presentation of TNBC in Hispanic women. In addition, the expression of ER, but not PR in Her-2 negative patients dramatically changes the initial presentation of the disease.
Race may play role in presentation of triple-negative breast cancer in hispanic women
2012-04-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tswana Pride Overcomes Adversity and Operates as Botswana's Premier Poultry Producer, in Food & Drink Digital
2012-04-04
Tswana Pride has overcome incredible adversity in the last three years to become the largest poultry producing company in Botswana. In 2009, the company's abattoir burnt down and had to be entirely rebuilt at a cost of 90 million BWP. The new facility, which opened for operation in mid-2011, was constructed to the latest European standards and today it is Botswana's biggest, most state-of-the-art abattoir.
When the abattoir was destroyed by fire, Tswana Pride used the opportunity to build the most technologically sophisticated facility in the region. Although the company ...
Nearly half of cancer survivors died from conditions other than cancer
2012-04-04
CHICAGO -- Although cancer recurrence may be the overriding fear for many survivors, nearly half of survivors from a recently presented study died from other conditions.
These results indicate survivors could potentially benefit from a more comprehensive, less cancer-focused approach to their health, according to lead researcher Yi Ning, M.D., Sc.D., assistant professor in the department of epidemiology and community health at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and associate research member at VCU Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Va. Ning presented the results at ...
Drug combination may provide option to patients with NSCLC ineligible for bevacizumab
2012-04-04
CHICAGO — A combination of nab-paclitaxel and carboplatin for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer may be a promising option for patients ineligible for treatment with bevacizumab, according to data presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 - April 4.
"The combination of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel demonstrates promising efficacy with tolerable toxicity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ineligible for therapy with bevacizumab," said Gregory A. Otterson, M.D., professor of internal medicine, co-director of the thoracic oncology ...
"Vampire Zoo": British Film is Collaborative Effort of Creative Team
2012-04-04
The trailer for a new British film reveals an edgy and sophisticated work of cinematography which will likely interest wide audiences in the United States as well as the UK. Stunning music, scenes, acting, and photography combine to make this a gem in the genre of independent films.
Vampire Zoo has been written as a 6 part TV series and also a feature film.
The creative team behind Vampire Zoo is comprised of a coalition of filmmakers - Clockwork Productions, JTMR Films and Foot in the Door Productions - who are attempting to raise the funds to make the project independently ...
Cruciferous vegetable consumption linked to improved breast cancer survival rates
2012-04-04
CHICAGO — Eating cruciferous vegetables after breast cancer diagnosis was associated with improved survival among Chinese women, according to results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 - April 4.
"Breast cancer survivors can follow the general nutritional guidelines of eating vegetables daily and may consider increasing intake of cruciferous vegetables, such as greens, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, as part of a healthy diet," said Sarah J. Nechuta, M.P.H., Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
She ...
Baseline hormone levels may predict survival in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer
2012-04-04
CHICAGO — Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with the androgen inhibitor abiraterone and who had high baseline hormone levels had longer overall survival compared with patients with low hormone levels, according to data presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 - April 4.
If confirmed, these data mean that levels of hormones, specifically adrenal androgens, may provide physicians with another way to predict the efficacy of therapy in patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to Charles J. Ryan, ...
Young women at growing risk of drunk-driving crashes
2012-04-04
PISCATAWAY, NJ – Underage female drinkers have been at a growing risk of fatal car crashes in recent years -- so much that they've caught up with their male counterparts, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Back in 1996, the U.S. had a gender split when it came to underage drinkers' odds of being involved in a fatal car crash: at any given blood-alcohol level, young men had a higher risk of a fatal crash than young women did.
But by 2007, the new study found, that gender gap had closed.
The exact reasons are not clear. ...
Credible medical evidence of widespread torture in Darfur
2012-04-04
Allegations of widespread, sustained torture and other human rights violations by the Government of Sudan and Janjaweed forces against non-Arabic-speaking civilians are corroborated in a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine. In the study medical forensic experts reviewed the medical records of patients seen at a clinic in Darfur.
The authors, co-led by Alexander Tsai based at Harvard University and Mohammed Eisa based at Physicians for Human Rights, both in Cambridge, USA, conclude: "The widespread, organized, and sustained pattern of attacks documented in our ...
Increasing height and body mass index are risk factors for ovarian cancer
2012-04-04
A study in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that increasing height and, among women who have never taken menopausal hormone therapy, increased body mass index are risk factors for developing ovarian cancer.
These findings are important as in high income countries, the average height and average body mass index of women have increased by about 1 cm and 1 kg/m2 respectively per decade. These findings suggest that if all other factors that affect ovarian cancer risk had remained constant, the increases in height and weight among women would have resulted in ovarian cancer ...
Priorities for health systems strengthening efforts from the US CDC
2012-04-04
In this week's PLoS Medicine, Peter Bloland and colleagues from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lay out the agency's priorities for health systems strengthening efforts. To guide its support of public health in low- and middle-income countries around the world, the CDC proposes to focus its investments on strengthening six key public health functions that would contribute the most towards health systems strengthening efforts as a whole and have the greatest impact on improving the public's health. These include ensuring the availability of critical ...