American Cancer Society begins 30-year study of 100,000 black women's case and death rates

The American Cancer Society "has begun an ambitious, far-reaching study focusing on a population that has long been overlooked, despite high rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths: black women." 

That's the lead of a story by Roni Caryn Rabin in recent editions of The New York Times on an initiative called VOICES of Black Women that noted it's "believed to be the first long-term population study of its size to zero in specifically on the factors driving cancer prevalence and deaths among black women."

Researchers plan to enroll black women without cancer, ages 25 to 55, in D.C. and 20 states where most black women live.

Black women, the story says, have the highest death rates and lowest survival rates for many cancers of any racial or ethnic group. They die of uterine cancer at twice the rate of white women, and are "twice as likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer and more than twice as likely to die of it," Rabin's piece notes. "They are also 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer."

Dr. Alpa Patel

Racial disparities in breast cancer are relatively new. The Times story quotes Dr. Alpa Patel, senior vice president of population science at the ACS and co-principal investigator of the VOICES study, as saying that "until the 1970s, there was no disparity in breast cancer outcomes between black and white women. We know now there are more aggressive tumors, especially at younger ages in black women compared to white women, and we don't fully understand why."

Women in the study will be surveyed on their use of personal care products, "including hair straighteners, which have been implicated in some cancers," the article reports. In addition, researchers "will track stressors related to the physical environment, and facts such as neighborhood walkability, crime, air pollution, access to healthy food, and proximity to liquor stores and establishments that sell cigarettes."

More information on racial disparity can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

National study finds frequent use of hair straighteners may pose risk for uterine cancer

Can frequent use of hair straighteners pose a small risk for uterine cancer?

According to a story by Roni Caryn Rabin in today's editions of The New York Times, the answer is yes. 

Rabin's article says the risk is higher than for women who have never used the products.

The study, which was published yesterday in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed nearly 34,000 U.S. women for more than a decade.

Hair straightener use has previously been tied in studies to a higher risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

"While the increased risk [for uterine cancer] was found among women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds," the story continues, "Black women might be disproportionately affected: Sixty percent of participants who reported using hair straighteners self-identified as Black women, according to the study."

A March report from an expert panel indicated that over all Black women die of uterine cancer at twice the rate that White women do.

Frequent use is defined as more than four times in the previous year, and includes "any personal use, whether women applied products themselves or had the straighteners applied by others."

Alexandra White, PhD

Alexandra White, PhD head of the environmental and cancer epidemiology group of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (HIEHS) and the study's lead author, is quoted as saying that "there is a lot of pressure on women, especially Black women, to have straight hair. It's not an easy decision to not do this."

Researchers have cautioned that the study's findings need to be confirmed by other studies.

The uterine cancer study, Rabin's piece says, shows that some chemicals found in straighteners — such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde — could week "play a role in the increased" risk.

Uterine cancer, the story maintains, "is increasing rapidly. The number of cases diagnosed each year has rises to 65,950 this year from 39,000 just 15 years ago." 

When detected early, overall survival rates are high.

More information about risk factors, including those for minority groups, can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.