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 .
Differential Patterns of Risk Factors for Early-Onset Breast Cancer by ER Status in African American Women
Background : Given the disproportionately high incidence of early-onset breast cancer and aggressive subtypes , such as estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors , in African American ( AA ) women , elucidation of risk factors for early onset of specific subtypes of breast cancer is needed . Methods : We evaluated associations of reproductive , anthropometric , and other factors with incidence of invasive breast cancer  by age at onset ( < 45 , ≥45 ) in 57,708 AA women in the prospect i ve Black Women 's Health Study . From 1995 to 2013 , we identified 529 invasive breast cancers among women < 45 years of age ( 151 ER− , 219 ER+ ) and 1,534 among women ≥45 years ( 385 ER− , 804 ER+ ) . We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios ( HRs ) for associations by age and ER status . Results : Higher parity , older age at first birth , never having breastfed , and abdominal adiposity were associated with increased risk of early-onset ER− breast cancer : HRs were 1.71 for ≥3 births versus one birth ; 2.29 for first birth after age 25 versus < 20 years ; 0.61 for ever having breastfed versus never ; and 1.64 for highest versus lowest tertile of waist-to-hip ratio . These factors were not associated with ER− cancer in older women or with ER+ cancer regardless of age . Conclusions : Differences in risk factors by ER subtype were observed for breast cancer diagnosed before the age of 45 years . Impact : Etiological heterogeneity by tumor subtype in early-onset breast cancer , in combination with a higher prevalence of the risk factors in AA women , may explain , in part , racial disparities in breast cancer incidence . Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev ; 26(2 ) ; 270–7 . © 2016 AACR
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 .