NJ Communities Spotlight: Breast Cancer Diagnoses and Mortality Outcomes for Black Women

Breast cancer is widely known as a disease that affects thousands of women within the United States and is the second leading cause of death due to cancer in New Jersey (Department of Health, 2020). Current research discovered that it disproportionately affects Black women, making them 40% more likely to die to due to breast cancer compared to Non-Hispanic White women (Jatoi et al., 2022).

Those in the cancer research community have sought to provide possible causation as to this link between race and breast cancer diagnosis. Some attribute this statistic to social determinants of health, the notion that one’s socioeconomic conditions help shape the quality of their healthcare and access to it (Social Determinants of Health – Healthy People 2030 | Odphp.Health.Gov, n.d.).

Others have made the case that healthcare access and utilization is a cause, because utilization can be particularly low in some African American communities, Black women may be less likely to use breast cancer screening services (Konstantopoulos et al., 2023; Williams & Mei Rosemary Fu, 2023). But data has since refuted this claim, and found that Black women are in fact utilizing mammography services at similar rates as other racial/ethnic groups of women (Data Finder – Health, United States, 2025). Researchers also found that Black women nationally and within the state of New Jersey are more likely to be diagnosed with later stages of breast cancer, but this still does not offer a root cause for the 40% mortality rate (Department of Health | Cancer | Cancer Data Briefs, n.d.).

So far, the most promising answer to the 40% mortality rate lies in the discovery of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). TNBC is a more aggressive form of breast cancer, characterized by its resistance to current cancer therapies, lack of visibility without highly sophisticated screening technology, and its increased prevalence and mortality amongst young African American women (Ensenyat-Mendez et al., 2023).

Currently, the American Cancer Society suggests that all women start their annual mammograms at the age of 45 (ACS Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines, n.d.). Because Black women are being diagnosed with TNBC earlier within their lives and late-stage breast cancer detection is most prominent in Black women, it is suggested that the American Cancer Society consider updating its recommended mammogram schedules based on race and ethnicity to best account for varying risks associated with breast cancer among different groups of women.

New Jersey residents have access to ScreenNJ, a program which is upheld by the Cancer Institute of NJ to increase screening usage across the low-income and underinsured, as well as the Morris Cancer Institute, a treatment and research facility for various types of cancer (“About Us,” n.d.; Expansion of Care – Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center | Rutgers Cancer Institute, n.d.). In addition to these efforts, it is suggested that the New Jersey Department of Health continue to update its guidelines to reflect health outcome risks for minority populations in the state. With this research in mind and the right guidance from the state, all women can have better health outcomes.

References:

About Us. (n.d.). ScreenNJ. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://screennj.org/about-us/

ACS Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/screening-tests-and-early-detection/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html

Breast Cancer in Black Women Requires Greater Vigilance, Says Expert in Screening & Treatment. (n.d.). NYU Langone News. https://nyulangone.org/news/breast-cancer-black-women-requires-greater-vigilance-says-expert-screening-treatment

Data Finder – Health, United States (2025, August 20). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/data-finder.htm

Department of Health | Cancer | Cancer Data Briefs. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://www.nj.gov/health/ces/briefs.shtml

Department of Health. (2020). NJSHAD – Health Indicator Report – Deaths due to Breast Cancer by Year, New Jersey and the United States, 2000 to 2020. Nj.gov. https://www-doh.nj.gov/doh-shad/indicator/view/BreastCaDth.Trend.html

Ensenyat-Mendez, M., Solivellas-Pieras, M., Llinàs-Arias, P., Íñiguez-Muñoz, S., Baker, J. L., Marzese, D. M., & DiNome, M. L. (2023). Epigenetic Profiles of Triple-Negative Breast Cancers of African American and White Females. JAMA Network Open, 6(10), e2335821. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35821

Expansion of Care—Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center | Rutgers Cancer Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://cinj.org/about-cinj/jack-sheryl-morris-cancer-center

Jatoi, I., Sung, H., & Jemal, A. (2022). The Emergence of the Racial Disparity in U.S. Breast-Cancer Mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(25), 2349–2352. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2200244

Konstantopoulos, W., Collins, K., Diaz, R., Duber, H., Edwards, C., Hsu, A., Ranney, M., Riviello, R., Wettstein, Z., & Sachs, C. (2023). Race, healthcare, and health disparities: A critical review and recommendations for advancing health equity. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 24(5), 906–918. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.58408

‌Social Determinants of Health—Healthy People 2030 | odphp.health.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health

Williams, W., & Mei Rosemary Fu. (2023). Understanding Breast Cancer Disparities Affecting Black Women: Obtaining Diverse Perspectives Through Focus Groups Comprised of Patients, Providers, and Others. Journal of Community Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-023-01227-3

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