Background: Some studies have suggested that breast cancer in black women is more aggressive than in white women.
This study’s aim was to look for evidence of differences in tumour biology between the two cohorts.
Methods: This study compared the stage, grade and pathological expression of fi ve immunohistochemical markers (oestrogen
receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR], ERBB2, P53 and cyclin D1 [CCND1]) in tumour biopsies from age-matched
cohorts of patients from Nigeria and England. Sixty-eight suitable samples from Nigerian (n = 34) and British (n = 34)
breast cancer patients were retrieved from histology tissue banks.
Results: There were signifi cant differences between the two cohorts in the expression of ER and CCND1; and stark differences
in the clinical stage at presentation. But no signifi cant differences were observed for tumour grade.
Conclusion: There was a signifi cantly, low ER expression in the Nigerian cases which also predicts a poor response to
hormonal therapy as well as a poorer prognosis. Differences in clinical stage at presentation will most likely infl uence
prognosis between Nigerian and British women with breast cancer.