Clinicopathologic Presentation of Asian-Indian American (AIA) Women with Stage 0, I & II Breast Cancer

Although numerous studies have looked at cancer incidence and survival in Asian Indian-American (AIA) patients, there is a paucity of data regarding clinicopathologic presentation of cancer in this ethnically diverse population. After receiving IRB approval, AIA patients of Indian and Pakistani descent who presented with Stage 0, I, & II breast cancer to our facility were identified. Charts were extracted for clinical and pathologic variables in addition to outcomes data. Standard statistical analyses were performed using SAS (v 9.1). The population (n = 50) consisted of 86% Indian (n = 43) and 14% Pakistani (n = 7). The median age at diagnosis was 52 (range 25–79). Sixty-three percent of tumors were detected after discovery of a palpable mass while 36% had a mammographically detected mass. Stage 0, I & II distribution was 14, 42 and 44%, respectively. The median tumor size was 1.5 cm (range 0.2–4.5 cm). ER, PR, and HER2 were positive in 69, 67, and 24% of AIA patients, respectively; 21% were triple-negative. Treatment data shows that 60% underwent lumpectomy (n = 29), 39% underwent mastectomy (n = 19), 74% received hormonal therapy (n = 26) and 55% received chemotherapy (n = 30). To our knowledge, this is the first detailed report of the clinicopathologic presentation of Asian-Indian American women with breast cancer at a single institution. Of note, AIA women were more likely to present with palpable masses and at a younger age. This differs from Caucasian women and may indicate a social or cultural barrier to routine screening mammograms and possibly a biologically more aggressive tumor.