Donna Breckenridge 520-626-2277
Breast Cancer may be on the rise in U.S.-based
Latinas
Arizona Cancer Center Investigator leads $1 Million
research initiative across two U.S. states and Mexico, funded by the Avon
Foundation
Breast cancer is an understudied and poorly
understood disease in Hispanic/Latina populations in the U.S., and breast cancer
appears to be presenting at an earlier age in this population, on average 10
years younger when compared to Caucasian women. The findings were presented on
May 9 by researchers from the Arizona Cancer Center and the University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Symposium in
Torrance, CA.
“We need to understand the magnitude and profile of
breast cancer in our Latina population in the U.S.,” according to Elena
Martinez, Ph.D., of the Arizona Cancer Center. “If we do not make the effort to
understand breast cancer as this population ages and adopts lifestyles common to
the U.S., we could be looking at a major public health problem and higher burden
of disease.”
To support this effort, the Avon Foundation announced
a $1 million grant to enable researchers in the U.S. and Mexico to undertake an
international research initiative to assess the specific types of breast cancer
occurring in Latinas in both countries. The money will fund studies conducted by
the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston, and the Universities of Sonora and Guadalajara in
Mexico.
“In keeping with our mission to support the medically
underserved, the Avon Foundation is proud to support four major institutions
across two countries to help find the solution to the issue of breast cancer in
Latina women,” said Avon Foundation Executive Director Carol
Kurzig.
Preliminary data also suggest a higher risk of breast
cancer may exist for those Latinas born in the U.S. than in those born in Mexico
who are living in the U.S. However, researchers are quick to point out the only
way to verify these numbers is to conduct a large-scale research initiative in
both the U.S. and in Mexico.
Jorge Gomez, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the
Organs System Branch at the National Cancer Institute, confirmed that the
current U.S. data on Latina breast cancer may not as accurate as we have
thought, and that this research allows the U.S. to avoid a potential future
health crisis with regard to breast cancer.
“We simply do not
currently have accurate data on Latinas and breast cancer in this country, but
we do know a problem exists,” said Gomez, “Finally, thanks to a private funding
initiative, researchers in both countries are enabled to do their jobs and to
save future lives.”
Through this major research initiative, the
Avon Foundation grant aims to capture a true estimate of breast cancer patterns
in Latina women, including age at diagnosis; subtype of the disease; and the
influence of known risk factors on rate of diagnosis by comparing an enriched
population in Mexico with Mexican Americans residing in the United States. The
program will collect clinical data, treatment data, preliminary outcome data and
will characterize tumors by genetic analysis.
The announcement was
made at the annual Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum, this year focused on
“Challenges and Solutions in Screening and Treating the Underserved,” which
brought together over 200 specialists in breast cancer care programs to share
best practices and learn the latest scientific advances that will impact the
populations they serve.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2006,
the Arizona Cancer Center is Arizona’s first National Cancer
Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. With primary locations at the
University of Arizona in Tucson and the Virginia Piper Cancer Center in
Scottsdale, the Center has more than a dozen research and education offices
distributed throughout the state. The Center’s mission is to prevent and cure
cancer through patient care, research and education. For more information, go to
www.azcc.arizona.edu
<http://www.azcc.arizona.edu>
.
