Researchers at the University of Hawaii have found that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women diagnosed with breast cancer have higher rates of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Maui Now reports.
According to KHON 2, treating this specific type of breast cancer can be difficult because its immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment means that the cancer does not respond to typical treatments.
In their study, UH Cancer Center Director Naoto T. Ueno and Xiaoping Wang with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found a type of treatment that kills the cancer cells and boost the body’s immune system.
“Our group’s exciting results examine how the surrounding cancer environment contributes to the tumor’s aggressiveness,” said Ueno, according to Maui News Now. “I am very excited to bring this type of research to Hawaiʻi so that we can help more people by understanding the disease. It is not only about [inflammatory breast cancer], but understanding why breast cancer spreads and why it can be very aggressive.”
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