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 .
Dietary fat reduction and breast cancer outcome: interim efficacy results from the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study.
BACKGROUND Pre clinical and observational studies suggest a relationship between dietary fat intake and breast cancer , but the association remains controversial . We carried out a r and omized , prospect i ve , multicenter clinical trial to test the effect of a dietary intervention design ed to reduce fat intake in women with resected , early-stage breast cancer receiving conventional cancer management . METHODS A total of 2437 women were r and omly assigned between February 1994 and January 2001 in a ratio of 40:60 to dietary intervention ( n = 975 ) or control ( n = 1462 ) groups . An interim analysis was performed after a median follow-up of 60 months when funding for the intervention ceased . Mean differences between dietary intervention and control groups in nutrient intakes and anthropometric variables were compared with t tests . Relapse-free survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier analysis , stratified log-rank tests , and Cox proportional hazards models . Statistical tests were two-sided . RESULTS Dietary fat intake was lower in the intervention than in the control group ( fat grams/day at 12 months , 33.3 [ 95 % confidence interval { CI } = 32.2 to 34.5 ] versus 51.3 [ 95 % CI = 50.0 to 52.7 ] , respectively ; P<.001 ) , corresponding to a statistically significant ( P = .005 ) , 6-pound lower mean body weight in the intervention group . A total of 277 relapse events ( local , regional , distant , or ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence or new contralateral breast cancer ) have been reported in 96 of 975 ( 9.8 % ) women in the dietary group and 181 of 1462 ( 12.4 % ) women in the control group . The hazard ratio of relapse events in the intervention group compared with the control group was 0.76 ( 95 % CI = 0.60 to 0.98 , P = .077 for stratified log rank and P = .034 for adjusted Cox model analysis ) . Exploratory analyses suggested a differential effect of the dietary  intervention based on hormonal receptor status . CONCLUSIONS A lifestyle intervention reducing dietary fat intake , with modest influence on body weight , may improve relapse-free survival of breast cancer patients receiving conventional cancer management . Longer , ongoing nonintervention follow-up will address original protocol design plans , which called for 3 years of follow-up after completion of recruitment
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 .