Study confirms racial disparities in triple-negative breast cancer

In studying and treating breast cancers, doctors look for three common molecular signatures, which are used as targets for therapy. Cancers in which they aren’t present — known as triple-negative tumors — can often be aggressive and tricky to treat. A new study of over a million cases of breast cancer in the United States from 2010 to 2014 confirmed what other, smaller studies have suggested: Such diagnoses are significantly more common among black and Hispanic women than they are in white women. In addition, those between 50 and 64 were about half as likely to be found to have triple-negative breast cancer than those under 40. Knowing who is at higher risk for such tumors — and which factors might influence that risk — could be helpful, the study authors say, in monitoring and treating the disease.