title: Clinical profile of breast cancer in Arab and Jewish women in the Jerusalem area.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hadassah University Hospital Mount Scopus, PO Box 24035, Jerusalem Il-91240, Israel.
authors.forename: Aviram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nissan
authors.forename: Ram M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Spira
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamburger
authors.forename: Mahmud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Badrriyah
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prus
authors.forename: Tzeela
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Ayala
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.forename: Herbert R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Freund
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peretz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007585:Jews / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate