Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer in Black Women

Painting by Barefoot Contessa Art

Caribbean Women’s Cancer Study

Co-Investigators

The Caribbean is home to 40 million people. The population is predominantly of African descent with an admixture of Indigenous, Asian, Indian, European and Middle Eastern immigrants. This region has one of the highest burdens of cancer in the world. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in Caribbean women with ovarian and endometrial cancers ranking 4th and 5th as causes of death in this population. During slavery and post-slavery, the Caribbean had influxes of African, South East Asian, Chinese and European people, which vary across the region. The etiology of women’s cancers in the Caribbean is complex and multifactorial. Population aging; strong genetic contributions; adoption of lifestyle choices such as smoking, physical inactivity, and ‘‘westernized’’ diets; local environmental exposures; drastically changing fertility patterns; and cultural health behaviors all contribute to the burgeoning problem. It is not clear to what extent the genetic determinants of breast and ovarian cancers and other risk factors impact women in the Caribbean. Our research goal in this project is to understand the disease in this population.

Collaborators

  • Matthew Schlumbrecht, MD (University of Miami; Miami, Florida, USA)
  • Steven A. Narod, MD (Women’s College Hospital; Toronto, Canada)
  • Jameel Ali, MD (St. James Medical Complex, North Northwest Regional Health Authority; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Raleigh Butler, MD
  • DuVaughn Curling, MD (Princess Margaret Hospital, Bahamas)
  • Vincent DeGennaro, MD (Innovation Health International, Haiti)
  • Hedda Dyer, MBBS (Ross University, Commonwealth of Dominica)
  • Gillian Wharfe, MD (Mona, University of West Indies; Kingston, Jamaica)
  • Sook Yin, MD (Cancer Society of Cayman Islands; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands)
  • Cheryl Alexis, MD (University of West Indies-Cave Hill, Barbados)
  • Talia Donenberg, M.S., CGC (University of Miami; Miami, FL, USA)

Organizations

Funding