Influence of Ethnicity on Survival of Breast Cancer Patients in Turkey

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Kurdish women with breast cancer have more unfavorable prognostic factors than theirTurkish and Arab counterparts. However, the effects of these factors on breast cancer survival among theseethnic groups remain unclear. We therefore investigated the impact of ethnicity on survival in breast cancerpatients in Turkey. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: Ethnicity, age, stage at diagnosis, tumor characteristics, treatmentsgiven (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy), and survival times were recorded. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate the overall survival times and survival plots. Log-rank test was used tocompare the survival curves.<br/><b>Results</b>: Of the 723 breast cancer patients included in the study, 496 (68.7%) wereTurkish, 189 (26.2%) were Kurdish, 37 (5.1%) were Arabic and 1 was Armenian. Kurdish women with breastcancer had larger tumor sizes and higher rates of hormone receptor negative tumors than Turkish and Arabpatients. Mean follow-up time was 118.4 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 95.4-141.3] months, and it was 129.9(95% CI: 93.7-166.2), 124.2 (95% CI: 108.4-140.1) and 103.1 (95% CI: 85.9-120.4) months for Turkish, Arabicand Kurdish patients, respectively. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: Kurdish ethnicity is associated with higher rates of hormonereceptor negative and triple-negative tumors and with worse survival. Clinical and epidemiological research iswarranted to elucidate reasons underlying overall survival, variations in tumor biology, differences in treatmentresponsiveness, and effects of social factors among ethnic groups in Turkey.