Black women’s tumors are less likely to respond to estrogen-blocking pills, and a new consortium is focused on improving inclusion in cancer studies.
Valletta Howard, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed and treated early in the pandemic, is seen on March 11, 2024. While the rest of the world was in the throes of the pandemic, Valletta Howard was wrapping her mind around a breast cancer diagnosis.
On the heels of Howard’s cancer journey, Dr. Kent Hoskins, professor of oncology at University of Illinois Chicago, wants to make sure a test that’s often used to decide whether breast cancer patients should get chemotherapy is as effective for Black women as it is for other populations., and other researchers found the oncotype test, which tests tumor tissue for a group of 21 genes, could be problematic.
The UIC team is continuing to add to the research. Previous research found that although Black women are more likely than white women to get triple-negative breast cancer, they aren’t more likely to die from it. Yet they are more likely to die from the more common estrogen-receptor-positive form.
Valletta Howard, right, and her mother, Loverjean Fairman, in a photo from October 2021, when they were both battling cancer. The Chicago Department of Public Health commended the consortium for its joint initiative to improve access to clinical trials, particularly for minority populations and those who face barriers to participation.
Dr. Rita Nanda, director of breast oncology at UChicago Medicine; Dr. William Gradishar, chief of hematology and oncology at Northwestern Medicine; and Dr. Ruta Rao, oncologist and medical director at RUSH University Cancer Center, are all on board with handling the consortium at their respective institutions.
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