Race, ethnic differences in cancer tumors : Health: BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 30 Racial and ethnic differences in tumor biology may help explain why African-American women fare worse than others with breast cancer, a U.S. study said.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., found differences in how genes are activated in breast cancer tumors in African-Americans and whites. The researchers examined gene expression profiles -- an indicator of which genes are active -- in micro-dissected breast tumors from 35 patients with invasive breast cancer, including 18 African-Americans and 17 whites. They found genes related to immune responses and other aspects of tumor development are expressed differently.
