How do breast cancer incidence and death rates differ for women from different racial or ethnic groups?
In the United States, White women have the highest incidence rate for breast cancer, although African American/Black women are most likely to die from the disease. Breast cancer incidence and death rates are lower for women from other racial and ethnic groups than for White and African American/Black women. Incidence and death rates for female breast cancer are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Female Breast Cancer Incidence and Death Rates Breast Racial/Ethnic Group Incidence 3 Death 4 All 127.8 25.5 African American/Black 118.3 33.8 Asian/Pacific Islander 89.0 12.6 Hispanic/Latino 89.3 16.1 American Indian/Alaska Native 69.8 16.1 White 132.5 25.0 Statistics are for 2000-2004, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard million population, and represent the number of new cases of invasive cancer and deaths per year per 100,000 women.* • What factors might contribute to the higher breast cancer death rate observed in African American/Black women? Lack of medical coverage, barriers to early detecti
