Breast Cancer Research

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Commentary

Breast cancer in Marin County

Alice S Whittemore

Author Affiliations

Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

Breast Cancer Res 2003, 5:232-234 doi:10.1186/bcr633


See related Research articles: http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/4/6/R13; http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/5/4/R88

Published: 28 July 2003

Abstract

Two articles previously published in Breast Cancer Research illustrate the high rates of breast cancer in Marin County, a wealthy, urban county immediately northwest of the city of San Francisco. I herein comment on these articles, and on the political/psychological/scientific dilemma presented by regions with high cancer rates, such as Marin County. I discuss possible causes for such cancer 'clusters', and conclude with some thoughts about the future.

Keywords:
breast cancer; cancer cluster; genetic factors; risk heterogeneity; socioeconomic status