Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) occurs in 10–15% of patients yet accounts for almost half of all breast cancer deaths. TNBCs lack expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER-2 overexpression and cannot be treated with current targeted therapies. TNBCs often occur in African American and younger women. Although initially responsive to some chemotherapies, TNBCs tend to relapse and metastasize. Thus, it is critical to find new therapeutic targets. A second ER gene product, termed ERβ, in the absence of ERα may be such a target.

 Recent research suggests living in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with decreased likelihood of undergoing mammography and increased risk of late-stage breast cancer diagnosis. Long distances and travel times to facilities offering low- or no-fee mammography may be important barriers to adherence to mammography screening recommendations for women living in economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, in which African–Americans are disproportionately represented.

 Perceived risk to a health problem is formed by inferential rules called heuristics and by comparative judgments that assess how one's risk compares to the risk of others. The purpose of this cross-sectional, community-based survey was to examine how experiences with breast cancer, knowledge of risk factors, and specific heuristics inform risk judgments for oneself, for friends/peers, and comparative judgments for breast cancer (risk friends/peers - risk self).

 PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe perceived breast cancer risk, identify the percentage of women with inaccurate risk perceptions, and examine the influence of perceived and objective risk on screening behavior.
DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional.
SETTING: Community settings in a metropolitan area on the western coast of the United States.
SAMPLE: Multicultural sample of 184 English-speaking women (57% non-Caucasian, X age = 47 +/- 12 years) who have never been diagnosed with cancer.

 PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy and to explore the impact of fatigue on their health status.
DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive, repeated measures.
SETTING: A major oncology center, Saint Savvas Cancer Hospital, in Athens, Greece.
SAMPLE: Consecutive sample of 106 women (mean age = 55 + 12), with histologically confirmed diagnosis for stage I or II breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant radiotherapy for approximately six weeks.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe knowledge of hereditary, familial, and sporadic breast cancer risk factors among women in the community and to identify characteristics associated with this knowledge.
DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional.
SETTING: Community settings in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 Studies suggest that people construct their risk perceptions by using inferential rules called heuristics. The purpose of this study was to identify heuristics that influence perceived breast cancer risk. We examined 11 interviews from women of diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds who were recruited from community settings. Narratives in which women elaborated about their own breast cancer risk were analyzed with Argument and Heuristic Reasoning Analysis methodology, which is based on applied logic.

 BACKGROUND: Perceived risk is a principal variable in theoretical models that attempt to predict the adoption of health-protective behaviors.
METHODS: This meta-analysis synthesizes findings from 42 studies, identified in PubMed and PsycInfo from 1985 onward. Studies examined demographic and psychological variables as predictors of perceived breast cancer risk and the relationship between perceived risk and breast cancer screening. Statistical relationships, weighted for sample size, were transformed to effect sizes and 95% CIs.

 Purpose/Objectives: To examine the relationship between women’s reported social support and their adherence to recommended breast cancer screening guidelines.
Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Community women’s organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sample: 833 mostly low-income women with a mean age of 46.2 years from three racial or ethnic groups (i.e., Latina, Caucasian, and African American) who were not breast cancer survivors.

 Objectives:
To explore how culture may play a part in breast cancer screening, early detection, and efforts to decrease breast mortality.
Data Sources:
Journal articles published in the past 20 years on cultural aspects of cancer prevention and control.
Conclusions: