Doctor reading mammogram image

Social Stress Factors Drive Cancer Mechanisms that Help Explain Racial Disparities

Chronically stressful conditions of daily life such as racism, pollution, and poverty have a direct impact on the cellular mechanisms that drive lethal, invasive forms of breast cancer, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute researchers.

Publishing June 13 in the journal npj Breast Cancer, the findings provide insight into one of the most pervasive health disparities between White and Black people. Among aggressive subtypes like triple negative and inflammatory breast cancers, Black women have higher incidences and lower survival rates than White women.

Read the press release.