Oxford Cancer Ethnicity and Breast Cancer Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Group

We are inviting women with a personal experience of breast cancer, or women who have an interest in breast cancer, to help us develop a new study. We aim to create a dynamic and inclusive group. We are inviting women aged 25 years or older living in the UK and from African, Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani backgrounds to join.

What is the study about?

The study aims to answer important questions about ethnicity and breast cancer. It is funded by Cancer Research UK and led by researchers at Oxford University. The study will investigate:

why women of African, Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani backgrounds are less likely to get breast cancer but more likely to have more aggressive forms of the disease when they do
how different risk factors vary in women from different ethnic groups, and what influence they have on the risk of getting breast cancer and the type of breast cancer diagnosed.

The results will tell us how current breast cancer polices could be informed, and where more research might be needed.

what will i do as a memberof the ppi group?

attend in-person or online meetings and take part in discussions that shape how the research is designed (reasonable expenses covered)
help us to design ways of sharing information about the study with communities
co-design documents/resources to ensure information is clear and accessible.

Why should I take part in the PPI group?

people with a lived experience of cancer have a unique and valuable viewpoint
to help make sure research looks at issues important to you and your community
you will be part of a supportive PPI community, with access to support and training.

learn more

If you are interested or want to find out more email oxfordcancerppi@medsci.ox.ac.uk

Find out more about PPI at the Oxford Cancer Centre

summary of the planned ethnicity and breast cancer research

Breast cancer is an important health problem for all women in the UK. We know that women from the largest ethnic minority groups (Indian, Pakistani, Black African and Black Caribbean) are less likely to get breast cancer compared to white women, but more likely to have more advanced and aggressive types of breast cancer. We also know that people from ethnic minority groups are less likely to get involved in health research, an issue that needs to be tackled.

To help us with our research, we are recruiting a selection of ethnically diverse healthy women and breast cancer patients to join our Ethnicity and Breast Cancer Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group. Our research will take place over three years and is funded by Cancer Research UK.

The three main aims of our research are to understand why:

Women from ethnic minority groups are less likely to get breast cancer

We will use existing data from large national studies and our cancer registry service. We will look at breast cancer rates and how common breast cancer risk factors are in different ethnic groups. The results will tell us about current and future breast cancer rates, and will help us inform women in different communities and their healthcare professionals about their risks of breast cancer.
Ethnic minority women tend to have more advanced breast cancer when they are diagnosed

We will review and summarise data from previous studies and reports to try and find out why this is the case and answer questions e.g. why might ethnic minority women find it harder to access healthcare services for problems with their breasts? Or why might ethnic minority women not attend breast screening appointments? The results will tell us how current breast cancer polices could be informed or updated, and where more research might be needed.
Ethnic minority women with breast cancer tend to have more aggressive types of disease compared to white women

To understand the different types of breast cancer in ethnic groups, we need to establish a new study which includes large numbers of ethnic minority breast cancer patients. A mixture of personal, lifestyle and genetic factors influence the type of breast cancer a woman is diagnosed with. We do not have enough data about these factors in different ethnic groups, and we do not know whether women in different ethnic groups would want to share this information with researchers. We will test this using surveys and interviews in a study that will take place in ten hospitals around London and the West Midlands.

The Oxford Cancer Ethnicity and Breast Cancer Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Group will help co-design strategies that will encourage ethnic minority women to take part in the new study and to share our research findings widely in local communities to raise awareness about breast cancer.