Pathological and epidemiological factors associated with advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease, but the stage at presentation significantly influences outcome. It is important to dissect the pathobiological and epidemiological factors that influence the stage at presentation in order to develop effective strategies to improve clinical outcome. PubMed references relating to breast cancer subtypes, molecular classification of breast cancer, genetic susceptibility, young women and breast cancer. HER-2 positive, basal-like tumours and inflammatory breast cancers (IBC) more frequently present as late stage disease. Socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background also influence stage at presentation. The biology of IBC is poorly understood. Relative contribution of social and genetic factors in certain ethnic groups. Molecular determinants of breast cancer behaviour. Genetic and biological factors influencing disease phenotype in different ethnic groups. Biology of basal-like tumours and IBC. Role of predisposition of genetic variants in determining breast cancer phenotypes. Biological differences in breast cancer from different ethnic groups.