We investigated body size and survival by race/ethnicity in 11,351 breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1993 to 2007 with follow-up through 2009 by using data from questionnaires and the California Cancer Registry. We calculated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals from multivariable Cox proportional hazard model-estimated associations of body size (body mass index (BMI) (weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) and waist-hip ratio (WHR)) with breast cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. Among 2,744 ascertained deaths, 1,445 were related to breast cancer. Being underweight (BMI <18.5) was associated with increased risk of breast cancer mortality compared with being normal weight in non-Latina whites (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 3.20), whereas morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40) was suggestive of increased risk (HR = 1.43, 95% CI: 0.84, 2.43). In Latinas, only the morbidly obese were at high risk of death (HR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.23, 4.15). No BMI-mortality associations were apparent in African Americans and Asian Americans. High WHR (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1) was associated with breast cancer mortality in Asian Americans (HR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.21, 4.03; P for trend = 0.01), whereas no associations were found in African Americans, Latinas, or non-Latina whites. For all-cause mortality, even stronger BMI and WHR associations were observed. The impact of obesity and body fat distribution on breast cancer patients' risk of death may vary across racial/ethnic groups.

Nutritional status and physical activity are known to alter immune function, which may be relevant to lymphomagenesis. The authors examined body size measurements and recreational physical activity in relation to risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the prospective California Teachers Study. Between 1995 and 2007, 574 women were diagnosed with incident B-cell NHL among 121,216 eligible women aged 22-84 years at cohort entry. Multivariable-adjusted relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by fitting Cox proportional hazards models for all B-cell NHL combined and for the 3 most common subtypes: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Height was positively associated with risk of all B-cell NHLs (for >1.70 vs. 1.61-1.65 m, relative risk = 1.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.16, 1.96) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (relative risk = 1.93, 95% confidence interval: 1.09, 3.41). Weight and body mass index at age 18 years were positive predictors of B-cell NHL risk overall. These findings indicate that greater height, which may reflect genetics, early life immune function, infectious exposures, nutrition, or growth hormone levels, may play a role in NHL etiology. Adiposity at age 18 years may be more relevant to NHL etiology than that in later life.

BackgroundEarly age at menarche, nulliparity, late age at first completed pregnancy, and never having breastfed, are established breast cancer risk factors. However, among breast cancer subtypes, it remains unclear whether all of these are risk factors for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).MethodsWe evaluated the associations of these reproductive factors with TNBC, in 2658 patients with breast cancer (including 554 with TNBC) and 2448 controls aged 20–64 years, who participated in one of the three population-based case-control studies: the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study, the Women’s Breast Carcinoma in situ Study, or the Women’s Learning the Influence of Family and Environment Study. We used multivariable polychotomous unconditional logistic regression methods to conduct case-control comparisons among breast cancer subtypes defined by estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression status.ResultsTNBC risk decreased with increasing duration of breastfeeding (P trend = 0.006), but age at menarche, age at first completed pregnancy, and nulliparity were not associated with risk of TNBC. Parous women who breastfed for at least one year had a 31% lower risk of TNBC than parous women who had never breastfed (odds ratio, OR = 0.69; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.50–0.96). The association between breastfeeding and risk of TNBC was modified by age and race. Parous African-American women aged 20–44 years who breastfed for 6 months or longer had an 82% lower risk of TNBC than their counterparts who had never breastfed (OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.07–0.46).ConclusionsOur data indicate that breastfeeding decreases the risk of TNBC, especially for younger African-American women.

We investigated social disparities in breast cancer (BC) mortality, leveraging data from the California Breast Cancer Survivorship Consortium. The associations of race/ethnicity, education, and neighborhood SES (nSES) with all-cause and BC-specific mortality were assessed among 9372 women with BC (diagnosed 1993–2007 in California with follow-up through 2010) from four racial/ ethnic groups [African American, Asian American, Latina, and non-Latina (NL) White] using Cox proportional hazards models. Compared to NL White women with high-education/high-nSES, higher all-cause mortality was observed among NL White women with high-education/ low-nSES [hazard ratio (HR) (95 % confidence interval) 1.24 (1.08–1.43)], and African American women with low-nSES, regardless of education [high education HR 1.24 (1.03–1.49); low-education HR 1.19 (0.99–1.44)]. Latina women with low-education/high-nSES had lower all-cause mortality [HR 0.70 (0.54–0.90)] and non-significant lower mortality was observed for Asian American women, regardless of their education and nSES. Similar patterns were seen for BC-specific mortality. Individual- and neighborhood-level measures of SES interact with race/ ethnicity to impact mortality after BC diagnosis. Considering the joint impacts of these social factors may offer insights to understanding inequalities by multiple social determinants of health.

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A B S T R A C T PurposeTo evaluate the effect of obesity on survival among black women and white women with invasive breast cancer and to determine whether obesity explains the poorer survival of black women relative to white women. Patients and MethodsWe observed 4,538 (1,604 black, 2,934 white) women who were 35 to 64 years of age when diagnosed with incident invasive breast cancer between 1994 and 1998. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to examine the effect of body mass index (BMI, in kilograms per square meter) 5 years before diagnosis on risk of death from any cause and from breast cancer. ResultsDuring a median of 8.6 years of follow-up, 1,053 women died (519 black, 534 white), 828 as a result of breast cancer (412 black, 416 white). Black women were more likely to die than white women (multivariate-adjusted relative risk [RR], 1.33; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.53). Compared with women with BMI of 20 to 24.9 kg/m 2 , those who were obese (BMI Ն 30 kg/m 2 ) had a greater risk of all-cause mortality (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.47) and breast cancer-specific mortality (RR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.46). These associations were observed among white women (all-cause RR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.21 to 1.96; breast cancer RR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.92), but not among black women (all-cause RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.81 to 1.29; breast cancer RR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.33). ConclusionObesity may play an important role in mortality among white but not black patients with breast cancer. It is unlikely that differences in obesity distributions between black women and white women account for the poorer survival of black women.

Racial/ethnic disparities in mortality among US breast cancer patients are well-documented. Our knowledge of the contribution of lifestyle factors to disease prognosis is based primarily on non-Latina Whites and is limited for Latina, African American and Asian American women. To address this knowledge gap, the California Breast Cancer Survivorship Consortium (CBCSC) harmonized and pooled interview information (e.g., demographics, family history of breast cancer, parity, smoking, alcohol consumption) from six California-based breast cancer studies and assembled corresponding cancer registry data (clinical characteristics, mortality), resulting in 12,210 patients (6,501 non-Latina Whites, 2,060 African Americans, 2,032 Latinas, 1,505 Asian Americans, 112 other race/ethnicity) diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer between 1993 and 2007. In total, 3,047 deaths (1,570 breast cancer-specific) were observed with a mean (SD) follow-up of 8.3 (3.5) years. Cox-proportional hazards regression models were fit to data to estimate hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for overall and breast cancer-specific mortality. Compared with non-Latina Whites, the HR of breast cancer-specific mortality was 1.13 (95% CI, 0.97-1.33) for African Americans, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-1.00) for Latinas, and 0.60 (95% CI, 0.37-0.97) for Asian Americans after adjustment for age, tumor characteristics, and select lifestyle factors. The CBCSC represents a large and racially/ethnically diverse cohort of breast cancer patients from California. This cohort will enable analyses to jointly consider a variety of clinical, lifestyle, and contextual factors in attempting to explain the long-standing disparities in breast cancer outcomes.

BackgroundNon-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a malignancy etiologically linked to immunomodulatory exposures and disorders. Endogenous female sex hormones may modify immune function and influence NHL risk. Few studies have examined associations between reproductive factors, which can serve as surrogates for such hormonal exposures, and NHL risk by subtype.Methodology/Principal FindingsWomen in the California Teachers Study cohort provided detailed data in 1995–1996 on reproductive history. Follow-up through 2007 identified 574 women with incident B-cell NHL. Hazard rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models to assess associations between reproductive factors and all B-cell NHL combined, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, follicular lymphomas, and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias/small lymphocytic lymphomas. Pregnancy was marginally associated with lower risk of B-cell NHL (RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.68–1.04). Much of the reduction in risk was observed after one full-term pregnancy relative to nulligravid women (RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.54–1.06; P for trend <0.01), particularly for diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (P for trend = 0.13), but not among women who had only incomplete pregnancies. Age at first full-term pregnancy was marginally inversely associated with B-cell NHL risk overall (P for trend = 0.08) and for diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (P for trend = 0.056). Breast feeding was not associated with B-cell NHL risk overall or by subtype.ConclusionsFull-term pregnancy and early age at first full-term pregnancy account for most of the observed reduction in B-cell NHL risk associated with gravidity. Pregnancy-related hormonal exposures, including prolonged and high-level exposure to progesterone during a full-term pregnancy may inhibit development of B-cell NHL.