Breast lesions in black women.

A number of studies compared the clinical features and demographic characteristics of black and white patients with diseases of the breast. Only a few, however, dealt with the pathology of breast lesions. In this study, the distribution of breast lesions in blacks and whites (Caucasians) in the accessioned material of the AFIP from 1980 to 1983 was described. Additionally, the distribution of estrogen and progesterone receptors in a total of 425 black patients with breast cancer at Howard University Hospital was studied and the results compared with similar data reported in white American women. In the period January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1983, there were 380 breast lesions from black patients and 3511 comparable lesions from white patients accessioned at the AFIP. A total of 159 black women and 1819 white women were diagnosed with carcinoma of breast. Black patients had 102 (79 percent) invasive duct carcinomas, and white patients had 1112 (78 percent). Black patients with invasive duct carcinoma were generally younger than white patients, as 68 percent of black patients and 53 percent of white patients were younger than 54 years. The difference in age distribution was statistically significant. Lobular carcinoma was less common in blacks than in whites. The relative ratio frequency of mucinous, medullary, and papillary carcinoma was higher in black women than in whites. Tubular carcinoma, however, was more common in whites than in blacks. Black patients had a lower incidence of ER-positive tumors and a higher incidence of ER-negative tumors compared with published data on white patients. Postmenopausal patients were more likely to be ER positive than premenopausal patients. Stratification of the data indicated a lower incidence of ER-positive and a higher incidence of ER-negative breast cancers in both premenopausal and postmenopausal patients compared with published data from institutions with predominantly white patient populations. Microscopic examination revealed a higher frequency of poorly differentiated carcinomas and fewer well- and moderately well-differentiated carcinomas than has been reported for white women with the tumor. There was a significant correlation between tumor grade and receptor positivity. Well-differentiated carcinomas were more likely ER and PR positive than poorly differentiated ones.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)