HAMPTON, Va. — There are genetic tests out there which can tell a woman if she's more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at any point in her life.
For black women, those tests usually come back inconclusive.
Now researchers at Hampton University just got funding to try to figure out why.
It's another step towards finding what is possibly causing breast cancer in African-American women.
Breast cancer research continues to grow at Hampton University, thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health for $446,000.
Dr. Luisel Ricks-Santi studies the biological risk factors associated with breast cancer.
She said they're characterizing genes that increase the risk of breast cancer in women, but haven't been well-characterized in African American women.
Dr. Melissa Gomes looks at how the environment, even stress increases the risk of breast cancer.
There are a couple parts to this study.
Dr. Ricks-Santi said they recruited a group of women with breast cancer and the goal is to look at their DNA and identify those genetic changes that increase the risk of breast cancer in black women.
Then they'll take those specific genetic changes, which they believe are causing the disease, and grow cells in petri dishes to mirror the same genetic change and see what happens to the behavior of the cell.
"This right here will inform our next study in the Hampton Roads area," said Dr. Ricks-Santi.
Dr. Ricks-Santi said the number one risk factor for cancer is age and genetics increase your risk for getting breast cancer.
With this project they're connecting the biology with the behavioral to study the illness.
You can read more here.