Proteomic profile of African American breast cancer

B69 Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Though breast cancer is more commonly diagnosed in white women, more African American women die from this disease. Estrogen receptor positive tumor, for which hormone therapy and other treatment options are available and frequently successful, is more common in white women. African American women, on the other hand, are more commonly diagnosed with estrogen receptor negative breast tumor classification. This type of tumor is more aggressive and more difficult to treat. The purpose of this study is to examine the protein profiles of normal adjacent, estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast tumors from white and African American women. Our goal is to identify potential biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer in women with limited treatment options. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry was used to identify differentially expressed proteins. Such proteins may be useful biomarkers for early detection of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer. Information gathered from this study may be useful in identifying novel therapeutic and preventative agents for women prone to aggressive breast cancer.