Arizona Cancer Center study shows Hispanic women more prone to aggressive breast cancer

[Source: Donna Breckenridge, AzCC] – Results of a study published this week in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved indicate that when compared with Non-Hispanic White women, Hispanic women in the state of Arizona are more likely to have high-grade breast cancers, larger tumors, a greater number of positive lymph nodes, and advanced stage at diagnosis. Study results also indicate that Hispanic women are less likely to have tumors that are both estrogen and progesterone receptor positive, particularly in those under age 60. This is important because hormone-dependent tumors differ with respect to their biology, and these differences affect the type of treatment used, patient response to treatment, and patient prognosis.