Abstract 1813: Frequency and risk factors of male breast cancer in Egypt and Morocco
Authors: Quinlan-Davidson Meaghen , Strahley Ashley , Eissa Mohab , Benider Abdellatif , Benjaafar Noureddine , Hablas Ahmed , Karkouri Mehdi , Ramadan Mohammad , Eldein Ibrahim Seif , Nayera Anwar , Toy Kathy , Merajver Sofia D. , Soliman Amr S. 
Published: February 2011

Background: Although male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease, important geographic differences may help elucidate its etiology. For example, MBC in Europe and the U.S. accounts for less than 1% of all breast cancers, whereas incidence in Africa is estimated to be both higher overall and more variable amongst regions. Research from Egypt during the 1970s and 1980s showed higher incidence of MBC than the current incidence of the disease in Egypt. Preliminary studies showed that the proportion of MBC in Morocco as 3% of all breast cancers, which would suggest the possibility of MBC being more common in certain regions of Africa. Little knowledge exists, however, about the actual proportion, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of MBC in Egypt and Morocco. The goals of the current study were to explore the demographic and clinical characteristics of MBC in Egypt and Morocco with a particular focus on place of residence, age at diagnosis, previous medical history including: family history of breast cancer, treatment seeking patterns, and BRCA2 germline and tumor status.

Materials and Methods: We analyzed data from Egypt (National Cancer Institute of Cairo University and the Gharbiah population-based cancer registry) for years 1999-2008 and Morocco (Casablanca and Rabat hospital cancer registries) for years 2002-2008. Information was abstracted from medical records and pathology reports (Egypt: N=191; Morocco: N=131) and tissue samples were collected for analysis of BRCA2 expression, as described previously.

Results: The 1999-2006 age-adjusted incidence rate for the Gharbiah province in Egypt is 1.79/105. Frequency of MBC, out of all breast cancer cases in Morocco is 2.6%. The median age is 58 years (+/− 15.2) and 66 years (+/− 14.4) for Egypt and Morocco, respectively. At both sites, a majority of patients presented with grade II cancer (Egypt: 78.4%, Morocco: 81.0%). The most common type of cancer was invasive ductal carcinoma (Egypt: 86.5%, Morocco: 68.5%), and both countries presented with a majority of ER positive (Egypt: 81.1%, Morocco: 85.5%) cases. In both countries, most cases came from urban areas (Egypt: 66.0%; Morocco: 67.9%) and were without a family history of any breast cancer (Egypt: 2.0%; Morocco: 3.9%). Immunohistochemical analysis showed BRCA2 protein truncation in 23.1% of Egyptian cases and 26.3% of Moroccan cases. Conclusion: Although the molecular pattern of MBC in North Africa resembles MBC in the US, the higher incidence suggests studies of the CAG repeat polymorphism of the androgen receptor gene, which are ongoing in cases and normal controls to help explain the potential higher risk of MBC in North Africa.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1813.