PGR and neoplasm: African-American (A-A) women had significantly larger tumours, lower rates of localised disease and higher rates of oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) negativity, all of which confer a poorer prognosis (Elledge et al, 1994; Joslyn and West, 2000; Newman et al, 2002; Jones et al, 2004; Gukas et al, 2005).