After the implementation of targeted therapies, researchers saw a larger gap in breast cancer mortality rates between African American and Caucasian women, according to Melissa B. Davis, PhD, an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. 

Targeted therapies caused a decline in deaths in white women, while deaths in black women essentially stayed the same. Some of this can be attributed to access to healthcare, but upon further investigation, researchers also found that the 2 groups have differences in their tumor biology and types of breast cancer, thus making these new treatments more efficacious in the Caucasian population.

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After the widespread use of targeted therapies for breast cancer treatment, there was a wider gap in mortality rates between black and white women with the disease.

Melissa B. Davis, PhD

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Do Targeted Therapies Drive Disparities?