Original researchThe incidence, age at diagnosis of breast cancer in the Iraqi Kurdish population and comparison to some other countries of Middle-East and West

•Incidence of breast cancer in Iraqi Kurds is lower than other nations of Middle-East.•Kurdish women get breast cancer in younger age than the women in the west.•The highest age-specific rate was reported at age group 45-49 years in Iraqi Kurdish.•A significant proportion of breast cancer occurs in premenopausal Kurdish women.

Background: Studies on breast cancer among Iraqi Kurdish are limited. The incidence of breast cancer is lower, more common in younger age and a significant proportion of cases occur in premenopausal women. The aims of this study are to estimate the age-standardized incidence rate, age-specific rates and their comparison with some countries of Middle-East and West, and clarify the association of family history and premenopausal status with breast cancer. Materials and methods: This retrospective case control study was conducted in Sulaimanyah governorate (North of Iraq). Data were collected regarding demographical profile of 536 patients who were registered in Hewa Hematology and Oncology Hospital during 2011-2013, and 496 age-matched controls. Results: There were 536 cases of breast cancer, 526 of them were female. The age range was 20-82 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 49.42 ± 11.66 years compared to control 46.7 ± 10.2 (p˂0.001, 95% CI: 1.7-3.7). The age-standardized rate was 17.9/100,000 Kurdish women population/year. Five year age-specific rates show the peak incidence for the age group 45-49 years (79.3/100,000). A significant percentage of patients were premenopausal at the time of diagnosis, which is account 55.52% of cases compared to control 59.67% (p = 0.53). About 13.49% of cases have family history of breast cancer compared to control 3.2% (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Among Kurdish people in Iraq, the incidence of breast cancer is less than Middle-East and Western countries with higher incidence in younger age group than western society, but similar to Middle-East countries. More than half of Kurdish women with breast cancer are premenopausal.