By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Breast cancer represents about 20 percent of all cancer cases diagnosed in Qatar every year, being the most common cancer in the country. About one third of these cases are diagnosed in Qatari women at young age, according to a health expert.
However, incidence of breast cancer is less in comparison with Western countries, Dr Davide Bedognetti, Director, Tumor Biology, Immunology and Therapy Section at the Sidra Medical and Research Center told The Peninsula yesterday.
“Overall, the incidence of breast cancer in Qatar (51.3 per 100,000 per year) is lower than that of Western countries like the US but is rising fast and is expected to match that of Western countries in the near future,” said Dr Bedognetti.
The age pattern of breast cancers in Arab countries, including Qatar, is different from Western countries. In Europe and the US, the median age at diagnosis is 63 years, while in Qatari women it is 47 years, with about 65 percent of breast cancer cases in Qatar being diagnosed in women younger than 50 years.
“What causes concern is that it affects women at a younger age, tends to be more aggressive and is diagnosed at a more advanced stage,” said Dr Bedognetti.
He also said that more specific research is needed to find the exact reason behind high prevalence of breast cancer in Qatar.
The Qatar Genome Project (QGP) and similar initiatives will help to find out why some individuals and populations are predisposed or protected to certain diseases, cancer being among them. Sidra has been involved in the development of the QGP since its outset to support bioinformatics and sequencing needs.
“Working together with our partners in Qatar, the implementation of this project will establish a foundation for genetic mapping of diseases in the entire Qatari population; create the first Qatar-Middle East genome reference; set up a robust approach to neonatal screening and assessment of genetic disorders prevalent in Qatar; and establish a model for the study of complex diseases, such as cancer,” said Dr Bedognetti.
Speaking about Sidra’s future research interests in regard to breast cancer, Dr Bedognetti said that they would explore more in to immunotherapy, a method of treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response.
“Sidra’s researchers, as well as other teams across the world, have shown that some tumors are associated with low relapse risk, favourable prognosis and increased chances of successfully responding immunotherapy. We are interested in understanding why this happens, why immunotherapy works in some patients but not in others, in order to develop personalised immunotherapies. By using state-of-the art technologies, we aim to understand the genetic basis of this phenomenon,” he said.
The Peninsula
