Breast cancer in Latinas: a focus on intrinsic subtypes distribution

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women worldwide. It is classified into intrinsic subtypes characterized by different molecular profiles and prognosis. The prevalence of the different intrinsic subtypes varies between population groups. Immunohistochemistry surrogates based on the expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have been widely used to study the distribution of intrinsic subtypes in Non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans, but data is limited for Hispanic/Latina women. Similarly, most studies analyzing gene expression profiles only include women of European descent. The present review focuses on studies that describe the distribution of breast cancer subtypes in Hispanic/Latina women and highlights the need for more research in this population.