Racial and Ethnic Differences in Breast Cancer Risk Factors

摘要

Data collection was recently completed for a population-based case- control study of breast cancer which was funded by the Department of Defense, the National Cancer Institute, and the California Breast Cancer Research Program. Breast cancer cases were identified through the cancer registry covering the San Francisco Bay Area and include Latina, African-American and White women aged 35-79 years diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1995 and 1998. Controls were identified through random-digit dialing and frequency- matched to cases on ethnicity and age. Study participation involved an in-person interview on physical activity, vitamin D exposures (sun exposure, dietary intake), phytoestrogen intake, and other risk factors, and measurements of anthropometry an skin pigmentation. The interview was completed by 1,326 cases (469 Latinas, 409 African-Americans, 448 Whites) and 1,657 controls (699 Latinas, 480 African-Americans, 498 Whites). Data analyses examining the risk factor profile among Whites (high risk), African-Americans (moderate risk), and Latinas (low risk) are currently in progress. This study will make an important contribution to the sparse epidemiological literature on breast cancer risk factors in African-American and Latina women.