Biomed Radio - Washington University School Of Medicine In St. Louis

Scientists’ understanding of the genetic roots of breast cancer is based largely on research conducted in women of European ancestry. But that knowledge does little to explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be diagnosed at younger ages and with more aggressive tumors than their white counterparts. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a major study involving 600 African-American women with breast cancer to learn whether their genetic risks are influenced by the same gene mutations that affect white women or if their mutations are altogether different. Such information may lead to new ways to prevent or treat breast cancer in African-American women. AS SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE BIG ADVANCES IN GENETIC TESTING FOR BREAST CANCER, NOT ALL WOMEN HAVE GOTTEN THE BENEFITS. MOST OF THAT RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE IN WOMEN OF EUROPEAN ANCESTRY, AND MUCH LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE GENETICS OF BREAST CANCER IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN. NOW, A TEAM OF RES