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 .
Greater survival after breast cancer in physically active women with high vegetable-fruit intake regardless of obesity.
PURPOSE Single-variable analyses have associated physical activity , diet , and obesity with survival  after breast cancer . This report investigates interactions among these variables . PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospect i ve study was performed of 1,490 women diagnosed and treated for early-stage breast cancer between 1991 and 2000 . Enrollment was an average of 2 years postdiagnosis . Only seven women were lost to follow-up through December 2005 . RESULTS In univariate analysis , reduced mortality was weakly associated with higher vegetable-fruit consumption , increased physical activity , and a body mass index that was neither low weight nor obese . In a multivariate Cox model , only the combination of consuming five or more daily servings of vegetables-fruits , and accumulating 540 + metabolic equivalent tasks-min/wk ( equivalent to walking 30 minutes 6 d/wk ) , was associated with a significant survival advantage ( hazard ratio , 0.56 ; 95 % CI , 0.31 to 0.98 ) . The approximate 50 % reduction in risk associated with these healthy lifestyle behaviors was observed in both obese and nonobese women , although fewer obese women were physically active with a healthy dietary pattern ( 16 % v 30 % ) . Among those who adhered to this healthy lifestyle , there was no apparent effect of obesity on survival . The effect was stronger in women who had hormone receptor-positive cancers . CONCLUSION A minority of breast cancer survivors follow a healthy lifestyle that includes both recommended intakes of vegetables-fruits and moderate levels of physical activity . The strong protective effect observed suggests a need for additional investigation of the effect of the combined influence of diet and physical activity on breast cancer survival
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 .