Open AccessBreast Cancer and African Ancestry: Lessons Learned at the 10-Year Anniversary of the Ghana-Michigan Research Partnership and International Breast Registry
Author(s) -
Evelyn Jiagge,
Joseph K. Oppong,
Jessica Bensenhaver,
Francis Aitpillah,
Kofi K. Gyan,
Ishmael Kyei,
Ernest OseiBonsu,
Ernest Adjei,
Michael Ohene-Yeboah,
Kathy A. Toy,
Karen E. Jackson,
Marian Akpaloo,
Dorcas Acheampong,
Beatrice Antwi,
Faustina Obeng Agyeman,
Zainab Jassim Al-Hassan,
Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo,
Osei Owusu-Afriyie,
Robert Newman Brewer,
Amma Gyamfuah,
Barbara Salem,
Timothy V. Johnson,
Max S. Wicha,
Sofía D. Merajver,
Celina G. Kleer,
Judy Pang,
Emmanuel Amankwaa-Frempong,
Azadeh Stark,
Francis A. Abantanga,
Lisa A. Newman,
Baffour Awuah
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of global oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.002
H-Index - 17
ISSN - 2378-9506
DOI - 10.1200/jgo.2015.002881
Subject(s) - medicine , general partnership , breast cancer , family medicine , cancer registry , cancer , gerontology , library science , political science , law , computer science
Women with African ancestry in western, sub-Saharan Africa and in the United States represent a population subset facing an increased risk of being diagnosed with biologically aggressive phenotypes of breast cancer that are negative for the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 / neu marker. These tumors are commonly referred to as triple-negative breast cancer. Disparities in breast cancer incidence and outcome related to racial or ethnic identity motivated the establishment of the International Breast Registry, on the basis of partnerships between the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. This research collaborative has featured educational training programs as well as scientific investigations related to the comparative biology of breast cancer in Ghanaian African, African American, and white/European American patients. Currently, the International Breast Registry has expanded to include African American patients throughout the United States by partnering with the Sisters Network (a national African American breast cancer survivors' organization) and additional sites in Ghana (representing West Africa) as well as Ethiopia (representing East Africa). Its activities are now coordinated through the Henry Ford Health System International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes. Herein, we review the history and results of this international program at its 10-year anniversary.