28.Aviram Nissan, M.D.a, Ram M. Spira, M.D.a, Tamar Hamburger, B.Sc.b, Mahmud Badrriyah, M.D.a, Diana Prus, M.D.c, Tzeela Cohen, M.D.a, Ayala Hubert, M.D.b, Herbert R. Freund, M.D.a,*, Tamar Peretz, M.D.  Clinical profile of breast cancer in Arab and Jewish women in the Jerusalem area.  The American Journal of Surgery, 2004; 188: 62–67.

A historical cohort (1994-1999) study was executed to compare breast cancer profile between Jewish and Arab women.  Medical history of Palestinian Arabs, Jewish women was collected and reviewed from the Hadassah University Hospital Mount Scopus operating room.  Women were divided into three categories Palestinian Arabs, Ashkenazi Jews, and Sephardic Jews.  Chi Square and/or Fishers test was conducted to study the difference between each category.  For studying continuous variables ANOVA or two tailed t-test was used.  Breast cancer was diagnosed in 41 out of 159 AJ (26%), 11 out of 82 (13%) SJ, and 6 out of 65 (9%) PA.  Tumor size was the largest among PA (38.8+/- 3.7 mm).  Survival was 77%, 72%, and 58% of AJ, SJ, and PA respectively (P value=0.02).  Five year disease free was 72%, 51%, and 50% in AJ, SJ, and PA respectively (P-value=0.03).  The youngest group of patients was the PA and the oldest the AJ, the difference in age was statistically significant (P-value=0.03).  Late diagnosis, different treatments regimens, and more aggressive tumor biology could be attributed to the lower survival rate and prevalence of tumor at a younger age in Palestinian Arab Women.