Breast-cancer rate rises among blacks

African-American women have reached a dubious milestone. For the first time, the incidence of breast cancer among black women is equal to that of white women, according to a sweeping new report from the American Cancer Society.

The finding is worrisome because breast cancer had historically been more deadly in black women than in white women, but at least it had not been as common. Now, as the incidence rates equalize, statistics suggest that breast cancer will continue to exact a far greater toll on blacks.

“It is a crisis,” said Marc Hurlbert, chief mission officer for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “The increasing incidence is unfortunate because the mortality rate for black women is already so much higher, and now if more women are getting breast cancer, then unfortunately, the number of black women dying from the disease will go up.”

Overall, the report painted a grim picture, showing that advances in diagnosis and treatment that have improved breast-cancer survival rates have largely bypassed African-American women. By virtually every measure of the disease — age of diagnosis, age of death, stage of diagnosis — black women are at a significant disadvantage compared with white women, the data show.

Among white women, the breast-cancer incidence rate has been stable since 2004, hovering around 135 per 100,000 women. Among black women, the rate had ranged from 119 to 125 per 100,000. But in 2012, a startling change occurred: The rates among both whites and blacks were 135 cases per 100,000 women.

The reasons for the increase are complex and are thought to be driven largely by rising obesity rates. Researchers also think that changes in reproductive patterns might play a role.