A population-based audit of ethnicity and breast cancer risk in one general practice catchment area in North London, UK: implications for practice.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct a pilot population-based study within a general practice catchment area to determine whether the incidence of breast cancer was increased in the Ashkenazi population.


METHODS
Population-based cohort study.


METHODS
A single general practice catchment area in North London.


METHODS
1947 women over the age of 16 who responded to a questionnaire about ethnicity and breast cancer.


METHODS
Incidence of breast cancer, ethnicity.


RESULTS
This study showed a 1.5-fold (95% CI 0.93-2.39) increase in breast cancer risk in the Ashkenazim compared with the non-Ashkenazi white population. The increased incidence was for both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer (expected incidence pre:post is 1:4 whereas in the Ashkenazim it was 1:1; 51 and 52% of cases respectively). This increase was not shown in the Sephardim. Asians had a reduction in incidence (OR = 0.44; 95% CI 0.10-1.89). Results were adjusted for other risk factors for breast cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed a 1.5-fold increase in breast cancer rates in Ashkenazim compared with the non-Jewish white population when adjusted for age (i.e. corrections were made to allow comparison of age groups) and this is not observed in the Sephardic population. The proportion of premenopausal breast cancer was just over double that of the general population. This is the first general practice population-based study in the UK to address this issue and has implications for general practitioners who care for patients from the Ashkenazi community.
Ferris
Michelle
M
Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Trust, London and Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5NG, UK.
Easton
Douglas F
DF
Doherty
Rebecca J
RJ
Briggs
Brian Hj
BH
Newman
Michelle
M
Saraf
Ifthikhar M
IM
Scambler
Sarah
S
Wagman
Lyndon
L
Wyndham
Michael T
MT
Ward
Ann
A
Eeles
Rosalind A
RA