Breast cancer risk assessment models: applicability to African-American women.
BACKGROUND
Mortality rates are higher among African-American women with breast cancer than they are among white women. This population subset can benefit from available risk reduction strategies. Optimal public health gains from chemoprevention strategies depend on the ability to assess accurately the risk for the individual. However, it is not known if existing breast cancer prediction models are accurate predictors of the disease among African-American women.


METHODS
Literature was reviewed for breast cancer risk prediction models and their validation studies. Reported data were also reviewed regarding the strength of established breast cancer risk factors for African-American women.


RESULTS
The two currently accepted breast cancer risk assessment models, the Gail Model and the Claus Model, were designed primarily to provide risk assessments for white women. Neither model has been validated in African-American women. Reported data are inconsistent regarding the prevalence and strength of risk factors included in these models.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts should be made to validate existing risk assessment models in African-American women and future research should be directed at the identification of more reliable risk assessment features.
Bondy
Melissa L
ML
Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. mbondy@mail.mdanderson.org
Newman
Lisa A
LA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health