Alastair Thompson, professor of surgical oncology at the University of Dundee, added: "Although the data will in future need confirmation in additional studies, this paper suggests, for the first time, an underlying biology, based around the p53 gene, explaining why women with breast cancer from the most deprived backgrounds do worst in terms of survival."

Ed Yong, head of health evidence and information at Cancer Research UK, commented: "We know that people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to die from some cancers, but it's interesting to see this difference mirrored at a genetic level. These results will need to be confirmed in other studies but they suggest that there could be important biological differences between the cancers developed by richer and poorer women.

"This finding also reminds us that poverty is a big issue in cancer. This is why Cancer Research UK's Commit to Beat Cancer campaign is calling for strong government action so that all cancer patients have the best possible outcome, including tackling the differences between different social groups." 

Source: Cancer Research UK