Conclusions : The available literature suggests that African American breast cancer survivors adhere to interventions of various modalities and are capable of making modest to significant changes .
Background : African American breast cancer survivors have a higher incidence of estrogen receptor negative and basal-like ( e.g. , triple negative ) tumors , placing them at greater risk for poorer survival when compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups .
While access to equitable care , late disease stage at diagnosis , tumor biology , and sociodemographic characteristics contribute to health disparities , poor lifestyle characteristics ( i.e. , inactivity , obesity , and poor diet ) contribute equally to these disparities .
Lifestyle interventions hold promise in shielding African American survivors from second cancers , comorbidities , and premature mortality , but they are often underrepresented in studies promoting positive behaviors .
This review examined the available literature to document health behaviors and lifestyle intervention ( i.e. , obesity , physical activity , and sedentary behavior ) studies in African American breast cancer survivors .
Epidemiology of breast cancer subtypes in two prospective cohort studies of breast cancer survivors
Introduction The aim of this study was to describe breast tumor subtypes by common breast cancer risk factors and to determine correlates of subtypes using baseline data from two pooled prospect i ve breast cancer studies within a large health maintenance organization . Methods Tumor data on 2544 invasive breast cancer cases subtyped by estrogen receptor , progesterone receptor , and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ( Her2 ) status were obtained ( 1868 luminal A tumors , 294 luminal B tumors , 288 triple-negative tumors and 94 Her2-overexpressing tumors ) . Demographic , reproductive and lifestyle information was collected either in person or by mailed question naires .  Case-only odds ratios ( ORs ) and 95 % confidence intervals ( CIs ) were estimated using logistic regression , adjusting for age at diagnosis , race/ethnicity , and study origin . Results Compared with luminal A cases , luminal B cases were more likely to be younger at diagnosis ( P = 0.0001 ) and were less likely to consume alcohol ( OR = 0.74 , 95 % CI = 0.56 to 0.98 ) , use hormone replacement therapy ( HRT ) ( OR = 0.66 , 95 % CI = 0.46 to 0.94 ) , and oral contraceptives ( OR = 0.73 , 95 % CI = 0.55 to 0.96 ) . Compared with luminal A cases , triple-negative cases tended to be younger at diagnosis ( P ≤ 0.0001 ) and African American ( OR = 3.14 , 95 % CI = 2.12 to 4.16 ) , were more likely to have not breastfed if they had parity greater than or equal to three ( OR = 1.68 , 95 % CI = 1.00 to 2.81 ) , and were more likely to be overweight ( OR = 1.82 , 95 % CI = 1.03 to 3.24 ) or obese ( OR = 1.97 , 95 % CI = 1.03 to 3.77 ) if premenopausal . Her2-overexpressing cases were more likely to be younger at diagnosis ( P = 0.03 ) and Hispanic ( OR = 2.19 , 95 % CI = 1.16 to 4.13 ) or Asian ( OR = 2.02 , 95 % CI = 1.05 to 3.88 ) , and less likely to use HRT ( OR = 0.45 , 95 % CI = 0.26 to 0.79 ) . Conclusions These observations suggest that investigators should consider tumor heterogeneity in associations with traditional breast cancer risk factors . Important modifiable lifestyle factors that may be related to the development of a specific tumor subtype , but not all subtypes , include obesity , breastfeeding , and alcohol consumption . Future work that will further categorize triple-negative cases into basal and non-basal tumors may help to eluci date these associations further
Conclusions : The available literature suggests that African American breast cancer survivors adhere to interventions of various modalities and are capable of making modest to significant changes .
Background : African American breast cancer survivors have a higher incidence of estrogen receptor negative and basal-like ( e.g. , triple negative ) tumors , placing them at greater risk for poorer survival when compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups .
While access to equitable care , late disease stage at diagnosis , tumor biology , and sociodemographic characteristics contribute to health disparities , poor lifestyle characteristics ( i.e. , inactivity , obesity , and poor diet ) contribute equally to these disparities .
Lifestyle interventions hold promise in shielding African American survivors from second cancers , comorbidities , and premature mortality , but they are often underrepresented in studies promoting positive behaviors .
This review examined the available literature to document health behaviors and lifestyle intervention ( i.e. , obesity , physical activity , and sedentary behavior ) studies in African American breast cancer survivors .