Comparison of some risk factors between non-familial and familial breast cancer females in Jordan

OBJECTIVE: To compare the risk factors such as age, menopause, menarche, age at the first pregnancy, number of pregnancies and breast feeding period between the familial and non-familial breast cancer females in Jordan.

METHODS: This study was carried out in Al-Basheer Hospital, Amman, Jordan during the period 2000 and 2002. A questionnaire was used to collect information from 99 females who were histologically and pathologically diagnosed with breast cancer. Data of the questionnaire were entered and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences.

RESULTS: The highest percentage of non-familial and familial breast cancer occurrence was among age group 51-60 years. The age of the first pregnancy is another risk factor of which the highest percentage of breast cancer was reported for both familial (57.1%) and non-familial (65.4) breast cancer females who have their first pregnancy while they were 20-years-old and above. More than 4 pregnancies also represents a risk factor for both non-familial (67.9%) and familial (68.6%) breast cancer patients. In this study, there are no statistical differences between menopause and menarche age among the breast cancer females. Finally, an inverse relationship was shown between breast feeding period (equal or more than 24 months) and the occurrence of breast cancer in both non-familial (2%) and familial (0%) breast cancer.

CONCLUSION: This study found that age 51-60 years and the increase number of pregnancies (more than 4) in the age of 20 years or more are risk factors for both types of breast cancer. On the other hand, longer period of breast feeding (more than 24 months) decreases the risk of breast cancer in both types.