A research team led by Dr. Wei Zheng from Vanderbilt University analyzed genetic data from over 40,000 women of African descent, including about 18,000 who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. This data was collected as part of the NIH-funded African Ancestry Breast Cancer Genetic Consortium, which amalgamated information from 26 studies. Most participants (85%) were African Americans, with the remainder from Barbados or Africa.
The researchers conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic variants more common in women with breast cancer than in those without. Published in Nature Genetics on May 13, 2024, this study is the largest GWAS of breast cancer in this population to date.
