Abstract B50: Breast cancer in the Caribbean – A six-country cohort

Introduction: In Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) non-communicable chronic diseases are now the leading cause of premature mortality. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Caribbean women. A Caribbean wide study was launched to determine the demographics of breast cancer and the contribution of breast cancer gene mutations to its incidence. Methods: Breast and ovarian cancer patients were recruited from public and private clinics in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti and at the University of Miami/ Jackson Memorial Hospital between 2010 and January 2015. Study participants had to have at least 1 grandparent born in one of the participating countries. All women provided written consent. The study was approved by the ethics review board in all participating institutions and/or countries. A saliva sample was taken. A pedigree was drawn and demographic and clinical pathologic data was collected from 855 women and men. Summary statistics and t-tests and ANOVA were used to analyze study population characteristics. Results: Afro Caribbean women have a young age of onset of breast cancer mean age 49.1 yrs. Within the cohort, Trinidad & Tobago had significantly p