Profile of familial breast cancer in Alexandria, Egypt.

Nearly two thirds of the cancers which will appear in the next 25 years will occur due to unawareness of the public. In a population genetic study in Alexandria, Egypt, we found that the parents of 20% of the population are first degree cousins. Out of 9,587 female cancer cases registered in the last 10 years by the Alexandria Cancer Registry, 3250 (33%) were breast cancer. Twelve percent of breast cancer patients had a positive first-degree relative family history of cancer. Familial breast cancer (FBC) occurred at a younger age, ranging from 23-74 years, with a median equal to 46.5 years compared to 35-76 years, with a median of 54.5 years, in non-familial cases. The aim of this work was to show how familial cancer registries can produce useful data, helping to develop a data base of familial cancer, for the primary care program to control the morbidity of breast cancer in females by identification of those with a positive family history of cancer who are at a high risk of developing breast cancer.