Clinical profile of breast cancer in Arab and Jewish women in the Jerusalem area

Background The clinical profile of breast cancer may vary among different ethnic groups living in the same country and therefore affect the yield of a breast cancer screening program. The present study attempts to better characterize the breast cancer clinical profile of Arab women compared with Jewish women in the greater Jerusalem area with a future aim of establishing a comprehensive and effective screening program for this population. Methods Retrospective chart review was conducted and the following covariates were correlated with survival: ethnicity, age at diagnosis, and American Joint Committee on Cancer (TNM) stage at diagnosis. Results A total of 312 women were operated on for breast cancer between 1994 and 1999; 51% were Ashkenazi Jews (AJ), 26% were Sephardic Jews (SJ), 21% were Palestinian Arabs (PA), and 2% patients did not fit into those ethnic groups. The mean age at diagnosis was 51.5 years for the PA group, 53.4 ± 1.5 for the SJ group, and 55.9 years for the AJ group (P <0.03 PA versus AJ). The tumor size (mean ± SEM) was 38.8 ± 3.7 mm, 31.1 ± 2.4 mm, and 24.5 ± 1.6 mm for the PA, SJ, and AJ groups, respectively (P = 0.03 for PA versus SJ and P <0.001 for PA versus AJ). Five-year overall survival was 77 %, 72%, and 58% for the AJ, SJ, and PA groups, respectively (P = 0.02); and 5-year disease-free survival was 72%, 51%, and 50% for the AJ, SJ, and PA groups, respectively (P = 0.03, AJ versus SJ). Conclusions Our data demonstrate younger age and larger primary tumor size for the Arab patients compared with the Jewish patients. These findings were associated with lower 5-year survival and disease-free survival of the Arab patients.