Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Expert Available for Comment on Disparities in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

New Brunswick, N.J., August 24 2021 – Cancer is a disease that can impact anyone, but it does not impact everyone equally. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black women, and Black women are twice as likely as women of other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype of breast cancer that is aggressive by nature with a complex biology.

Coral Omene, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, whose clinical expertise focuses on triple negative breast cancer and other forms of breast cancer, translational research and clinical trials, can share more about the high prevalence of TNBC in Black women and share some of the latest research investigators are exploring on this topic. Dr. Omene is also a member of the Center for Cancer Health Equity in partnership with the Rutgers School of Public Health which works to evaluate clinical trial enrollment, address catchment area burden and foster catchment area and disparities research. 

“It is essential that we understand the potential molecular mechanism(s) by which biology and modifiable factors such as obesity for instance, which is prevalent in Black women, interconnect to result in TNBC development and worse outcomes resulting in cancer disparities in Black women,” said Dr. Omene, who is also a member of the Clinical Investigations and Precision Therapeutics Research Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute and manages care for patients seen in the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center. “This may lead to the development of models that determine specific risk, increase access to early detection, care and clinical trial participation, in addition to the implementation of health policies to eliminate disparities.”