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 .
Physical Activity and Survival after Diagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer
Previous studies suggest that increased physical activity may lower the risk of breast cancer incidence , but less is known about whether levels of physical activity after breast cancer diagnosis can influence survival . We prospect ively examined the relation between postdiagnosis recreational physical activity and risk of breast cancer death  in women who had a previous invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 2001 ( at ages 20 - 79 years ) . All women completed a question naire on recent  postdiagnosis physical activity and other lifestyle factors . Among 4,482 women without history of recurrence at the time of completing the question naire , 109 died from breast cancer within 6 years of enrollment .  Physical activity was expressed as metabolic equivalent task-hours per week ( MET-h/wk ) ; hazard ratios ( HR ) and 95 % confidence intervals ( 95 % CI ) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression . After adjusting for age at diagnosis , stage of disease , state of residence , interval between diagnosis and physical activity assessment , body mass index , menopausal status , hormone therapy use , energy intake , education , family history of breast cancer , and treatment modality compared with women expending < 2.8 MET-h/wk in physical activity , women who engaged in greater levels of activity had a significantly lower risk of dying from breast cancer ( HR , 0.65 ; 95 % CI , 0.39 - 1.08 for 2.8 - 7.9 MET-h/wk ; HR , 0.59 ; 95 % CI , 0.35 - 1.01 for 8.0 - 20.9 MET-h/wk ; and HR , 0.51 ; 95 % CI , 0.29 - 0.89 for ≥21.0 MET-h/wk ; P for trend = 0.05 ) . Results were similar for overall survival ( HR , 0.44 ; 95 % CI , 0.32 - 0.60 for ≥21.0 versus < 2.8 MET-h/wk ; P for trend < 0.001 ) and were similar regardless of a woman ’s age , stage of disease , and body mass index . This study provides support for reduced overall mortality and mortality from breast cancer among women who engage in physical activity  after breast cancer diagnosis . ( Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):379–86
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 .