Introduction: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is characterized by an apparent geographical distribution in incidence, being more common in North Africa than other parts of the world. Despite the rapid growth of immigrants to the United States from Arab nations, because a racial category is rarely appropriated for this group, little is known about disease patterns among Arab Americans. The aim of this study was to describe the proportion of IBC among different racial groups, including Arab Americans from the Detroit, New Jersey and California Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries.

Methods: We utilized a validated Arab surname algorithm to identify women of Arab descent from the SEER registries. Differences in the proportion of IBC out of all breast cancer and IBC characteristics by race and menopausal status were evaluated using chi-square tests for categorical variables, t-tests and ANOVA tests for continuous variables, and log-rank tests for survival data. We modeled the association between race and IBC among all women with breast cancer using hierarchical logistic regression models, adjusting for individual and county-level variables.

Results: Statistically significant differences in the proportion of IBC out of all breast cancers by race were evident. In a hierarchical model, adjusting for age, estrogen and progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth receptor 2, registry and county-level socioeconomic position, Arab-Americans (OR=1.5, 95% CI=1.2,1.9), Hispanics (OR=1.2, 95% CI=1.1,1.3), Non-Hispanic Blacks (OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.2, 1.4), and American Indians/Alaskans (OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.1, 3.4) had increased odds of IBC, while Asians had decreased odds of IBC as compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (OR=0.6, 95% CI=0.6, 0.7).

Conclusions: IBC may be more common among certain minority groups, including Arab American women. Understanding the descriptive epidemiology of IBC by race may generate hypotheses about risk factors for this aggressive disease. Future research should focus on etiologic factors that may explain these differences.

Citation Format: Kelly A. Hirko, Amr S. Soliman, Mousumi Banerjee, Julie Ruterbusch, Joe B. Harford, Robert Chamberlain, Jon J. Graff, Sofia D. Merajver, Kendra Schwartz. Characterizing inflammatory breast cancer among Arab Americans in the California, Detroit, and New Jersey Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries (1988-2008). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A61.