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Anyone can get triple-negative breast cancer, however, African-American women are more likely to develop breast cancer at a younger age (under 50) and often have a more aggressive form of the disease called triple-negative breast cancer. This means that the cancer does not express the gene for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or HER2 that can stimulate breast cancers to grow—and therefore is immune to many of the targeted treatments that can be used to block tumor growth. Triple-negative breast cancer tends to grow and spread more quickly than other types of breast cancer. Black women are three times more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer than their White counterparts. In fact, research indicates that 20 to 30 percent of breast cancers diagnosed in African-American women are triple-negative.
Researchers have also found that it is more likely to affect:
Younger people. Triple-negative breast cancer is more likely to occur before age 40 or 50, versus age 60 or older, which is more typical for other breast cancer types
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