Breast cancer patients in Libya: Comparison with European and central African patients

Boder,Jamela Mostafa E.; Elmabrouk Abdalla,Fathi B.; Elfageih,Mohamed Ahmed; Abusaa,Abuagela; Buhmeida,Abdelbaset; Collan,Yrjo

doi:10.3892/ol.2011.245

Breast cancer patients in Libya: Comparison with European and central African patients

Authors:
- Jamela Mostafa E. Boder
- Fathi B. Elmabrouk Abdalla
- Mohamed Ahmed Elfageih
- Abuagela Abusaa
- Abdelbaset Buhmeida
- Yrjo Collan
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Affiliations: Department of Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland, Department of surgical oncology, National Cancer Institute, Misurata, Saudi Arabia, Department of Medical Oncology, African Oncology Institute, Sabratha, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Published online on: January 20, 2011 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2011.245
Pages: 323-330

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Abstract

The present study evaluated the incidence of breast cancer in Libya and described the clinicopathological and demographic features. These features were then compared with corresponding data from patients from sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria) and Europe (Finland). The study consisted of 234 patients with breast carcinoma, admitted to the African Oncology Institute in Sabratha, Libya, during the years 2002-2006. The pathological features were collected from pathology reports, patient histories from hospital files and the Sabratha Cancer Registry. The demographic differences between the Libyan, Nigerian and Finnish populations were prominent. The mean age of breast cancer patients in Libya was 46 years which was almost identical to that of Nigeria, but much lower than that of Finland. The Libyan breast cancer incidence was evaluated as 18.8 per 100,000 female individuals. This incidence was markedly higher in Finland, but was also high in Nigeria. Libyan and Nigerian breast cancer is predominantly of premenopausal type and exhibits unfavorable characteristics such as high histological grade and stage, large tumor size and frequent lymph node metastases. However, the histological types and histopathological risk features show similar importance regarding survival as European breast cancer cases. Survival in Libya ranks between the rates of survival in Nigeria (lowest) and Finland (highest). In conclusion, in Libya and other African countries, premenopausal breast cancer is more common than postmenopausal breast cancer. However, the opposite is true for Europe. Population differences may be involved, as suggested by the known variation, in the distribution of genetic markers in these populations. Different types of environmental impacts, however, cannot be excluded.

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