Prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer may depend on birthplace

A new study finds that rates of triple-negative breast cancer among black women may depend on where they were born. This type of breast cancer is usually aggressive and rare, but is twice as common among black women than white women. Looking at data from more than 65,000 black women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2015, researchers found that compared to women who were born in the U.S., there was an 8% lower prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer among those who were born in West Africa, while the prevalence was 46% lower among women born in East Africa. Although it was unclear what risk factors drove the differences, the similarity in prevalence between U.S.-born and West African-born women suggest that there may be shared genetic risks.