Breast Cancer Rates On The Rise In Black Women: Ages 50 To 59, Closing Gap On White Women While Death Rate When Diagnosed Is Worse Than Anyone Else

Breast cancer rates on the rise in black women, according to government studies, yet doctors have no explanation for this new report.

Another study done by Harvard, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research medical conference in Oct. 2012 studied three years worth of breast cancer diagnosis. This study didn't focus on the rates that are on the rise, but learned that black women were 50 percent more likely to die than white women when diagnosed.

One possible explanation of the rates on the rise came from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in June. Its study showed that black women are less likely to survive a breast cancer diagnosis within five years because they undergo fewer screenings, have poorer health at the time of diagnosis and have more advanced disease by the time the cancer is found.

The new report, published Oct. 1 in the American Cancer Society's journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, tracked breast cancer incidence and death rates from 2006 through 2010, according to CBS News.

For women between the ages of 50 to 59, black women are closing the gap of a category traditionally led by white women. Black women saw a 0.2 percent increase in breast cancer rates during the five-year study period, while there was no change among white, Asian and American Indian women.

Before turning 40, black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than any other women.

These reports show that white women have a better chance of surviving breast cancer because they can respond positively to the estrogen while black women have the highest rates of ER-negative breast cancer. This means it is much harder for them to respond from the estrogen.