Genetic Differences in Breast Tumors May Contribute to Racial Disparities

March 31, 2023

(STAT News) – Now, there’s evidence that ancestry correlates with key mutations that can shape the biology of certain tumors and how those tumors respond to treatments. Research published on Thursday in the JAMA Network Open found that Black patients tended to have worse responses to pre-surgical chemotherapy in nearly every subtype of breast cancer, but the disparity was most dramatic in HR-negative and HER2-positive tumors. When they looked deeper, the researchers found Black patients were more likely to have tumors with mutations that are associated with treatment resistance. (Read More)