Epidemiological Pattern of Breast Cancer in Iranian Women: Is there an Ethnic Disparity?

Introduction: Northeastern Iran is known as a high risk area of upper gastrointestinal cancers. Recent reportshave suggested a declining trend for these cancers as well as an increase in the incidence of other malignanciesincluding breast cancer. Our present aim was to describe the epidemiological pattern of breast cancer in thisregion during 2004-2009.
Methods: All new cancer cases from public and private diagnostic and therapeuticcenters of Golestan province were registered. A structured questionnaire was prepared and used based on thestandards of the International Association of Cancer Registries. The international classification of diseases foroncology was considered for coding. Age standardized incidence rates (ASR) of breast cancer were calculated.
Results: A total of 11,038 new cancer cases were registered during 2004-2009, of which, 1,101 (10%) were femaleswith breast cancer. The median age of the breast cancer patients was 46 years. The ASR for breast cancer was 28per 100,000 person-years. We found an unusual rapid increase in breast cancer rate at the age of 25 years. TheASR of breast cancer was significantly lower in females from Turkmen ethnicity and those from rural areas (Pvalue <0.01).
Conclusion: Our study showed high rate of breast cancer in Golestan province of Iran. We foundan unusual peak of breast cancer in young women. So, the age of starting screening programs may need to berevised in this area. The rate of breast cancer was significantly lower in women from Turkmen ethnicity. Furtherstudies are warranted to clarify the role of important determinants, especially regarding the ethnic disparity,on breast cancer in this region.