Radical and Ethnic Differences in Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Abstract
With funding from the Department of Defense, the National Cancer Institute, and the California Breast Cancer Research Program we conducted a population-based case-control study of breast cancer in women aged 35-79 who self-identified as Latina, African-American or White. Based on interview data on 1290 cases and 1611 controls, we found that lifetime physical activity reduced breast cancer risk in all three racial/ethnic groups. Phytoestrogen intake was not associated with risk. The data suggest that vitamin D exposures may reduce risk among Whites. Associations with these newly hypothesized factors and with the standard breast cancer risk factors (i.e., demographic and personal characteristics, menstrual and reproductive factors, body size characteristics) were generally similar across the three racial/ethnic groups, but there was considerable variation in exposure prevalence rates. For some, but not all of the exposures considered, the prevalence rates paralleled the incidence rates in the three populations. We estimated relative attributable risk fractions and found that the factors evaluated in this study explained a larger proportion of the differences in incidence among younger women (aged 35-49) than older women (aged 50-79). Also, the factors considered explained more of the difference in incidence between Latinas and Whites than between African-Americans and Whites.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADB281659
Entities
People
- Esther M. John
Organizations
- Cancer Prevention Institute of California