Black Culture, Public Health, Health Equity
Hypertension, Use of Antihypertensive Medications and Breast Cancer Survival Among Black Women
Mollie E. Barnard, Nuo N. Xu, Etienne X. Holder, Dennis Jones, Matthew Nayor, Naomi Y. Ko, Julie R. Palmer
June 8, 2026 at 1:15:16 PM
Abstract
Black women in the United States experience disproportionately high breast cancer mortality and have high rates of comorbid hypertension; however, the associations of hypertension and antihypertensive medication use with breast cancer survival are unclear. We examined these associations among 2,474 Black Women's Health Study participants with invasive breast cancer using Cox proportional hazards models. For ER+ cases, treated hypertension was strongly inversely associated with breast cancer-specific death (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.34-0.83). For ER- cases, untreated hypertension was associated with increased risk of breast cancer-specific death (HR 2.19; 95% CI 1.09-4.39). Findings indicate Black breast cancer patients with hypertension have better survival when their hypertension is treated.
Using 2,474 invasive breast cancer cases in the Black Women's Health Study, the authors examined how hypertension and antihypertensive medication use relate to breast cancer survival. For ER+ disease, treated hypertension was strongly inversely associated with breast-cancer death (HR 0.53); for ER− disease, untreated hypertension carried more than double the risk (HR 2.19). Findings suggest treating hypertension may meaningfully improve breast-cancer outcomes for Black women, possibly through regular care engagement or tumor-suppressing drug effects.