Observations on cancer of the breast among Arab-American women.

1577 Background: Breast Cancer Care among Arab American women (ArA) in the U.S. is not well documented. Dearborn, Michigan (a suburb west of Detroit) is home to a large and diverse population of Arabic ancestry. Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center (OHMC) is located in Dearborn. METHODS We analyzed Breast Cancer cases among ArA at OHMC between 2000 and 2009 and compared with European American women (EA). ArA were identified by utilizing a validated name algorithm (Schwartz 2004). Data were obtained from the Detroit SEER registry and OHMC data bases. RESULTS Breast Cancer was diagnosed in 121 ArA and 2464 EA. Forty nine ArA (40%) and 516 (20%) EA were age <50 at diagnosis (p value <.0001). In contrast 16% ArA (40%) and 36% EA were age >70 at diagnosis (p value <.0001). Carcinoma in Situ was found in 14% of ArA and 24% of EA (p value <.0001). Regional or metastatic disease at diagnosis was present in 51 ArA (42%) and 722 (29%) EA (p value <.0001). Stage difference between the groups was most noticeable under the age of 50. There was not statistical significant difference in the rate of Mastectomy between ArA 51 (42%) and EA 916 (37%) (P value 0.3442). The administration of radiation and hormonal therapy was similar between the 2 groups and among younger and older women; however 65% of ArA age <50 vs. 46% of EA age <50 received chemotherapy. At the time of this analysis 87% of ArA and 82% of EA were alive. No ArA were enrolled into Clinical Trials and only 4 underwent genetic/familial high risk assessment. CONCLUSIONS At OHMC, ArA were diagnosed with Breast Cancer at a younger age and with more advanced stage than EA but their survival was comparable. Mastectomy rates for the 2 groups were similar. Chemotherapy was given more frequently to younger ArA. Cultural differences did not seem to influence treatment; however ArA did not enroll in Clinical Trials and were unlikely to be evaluated for hereditary cancer syndromes.