Young black women in the UK who contract breast cancer fare much less well than white women, researchers revealed today.
Scientists do not know whether this is because of genetic differences or because of differences in the way women get access to health care.
US researchers have long known of differences between racial groups – but it was hoped that this would not apply in the UK with equal access to health care.
Researchers at Southampton University, UK, found that young black women are more likely to have large tumours and high rates of triple negative disease – which does not respond to hormone therapies.
They also tend to have more aggressive tumours than other women, the researchers report in the British Journal of Cancer.
Researcher Dr Ellen Copson, a Cancer Research UK scientist and one of the study authors, said: “Our study confirms for the first time that black women under 41 in the UK are more likely to have breast cancer recurrence than their white counterparts, despite equal access to health care.
“The finding also backs up similar findings in the USA, suggesting that this could be an international trend, but further research is needed to try and pin down the exact cause or causes, so we can tackle this issue.“
Dr Julie Sharp, of Cancer Research UK, said the findings were "worrying."
She said: "We know that some ethnic populations carry higher genetic risks of getting certain types of breast cancer, but if this difference is down to symptom awareness or access to healthcare, that is particularly concerning."
Copson, E et al. Ethnicity and outcome of young breast cancer patients in the UK: the POSH study British Journal of Cancer. 23 October 2013; doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.650
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