Study on Genetics and Breast Cancer in Asian Women

In collaboration with researchers at other centers in the U.S. and Hong Kong, NYP/Columbia's Breast Center will be participating in a gene expression study to identify genetic factors affecting breast cancer in Chinese women. While Asian women have among the lowest incidences of breast cancer, that incidence is increasing dramatically both in Asians abroad as well as in Asian Americans. Moreover, Asian women tend to develop breast cancer at earlier ages than their non-Asian counterparts — even before the age at which mammography is normally recommended — and their forms of cancer tend to be more aggressive due to the presence of certain genetic factors.