Paper Title
Breast Cancer Biomarkersin an Arab Worldregion

Abstract
In addition to surgical pathology, DNA, RNA, and proteins of breast carcinomas have provided a framework for new molecular classifications of breast cancers. Eighty one cases of breast cancer are identified over a period of seven years in northern emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Female to male ratio was 80:1. It was more commonly seen in UAE nationals 14 cases (17%), Philippinos 14 cases (17%), Egyptians 9 cases (11%) and Indians 7 cases (9%). It was more common in age groups 30-50 (50 cases). Approximately 90% of the cases presented with a breast lump. Less than 7% presented with axillary lymph node enlargement, and about 3% presented with distant metastases. The diagnosis was made by open biopsy and axillary clearance in 52 cases, by open biopsy alone in 6 cases and by fine needle aspiration (FNA) in 18 cases. In 5 cases the diagnosis was made during surgery by frozen section and then mastectomy was carried out. Invasive ductal carcinoma NST (no special type) was seen in 51 cases (62%), 11 cases (14%) were invasive lobular carcinoma, 12 cases (15%) were mixed invasive ductal and lobular, and 7 cases (9%) were ductal carcinoma in-situ. Majority of cases (51 cases; 63%) were stage II, 17 cases (21%) stage I and 13 cases (16%) stage III. Lymph node involvement was noted in 29 cases (36%). Estrogen receptors (ER) were positive in 11 cases (13%) and 5 cases (6%) overexpressed Her2/neu. Overall, breast cancer in northern emirates of the UAE presented at an earlier age and the incidence of breast cancer is more in UAE nationals than in expatriates. Most cases presented with breast lump. Invasive ductal carcinoma, NST was more commonly seen and showed more aggressive behavior. Keywords - Arab,breast cancer, surgical pathology, molecular classification.