Trial Information

A Case-Control Study of Inflammatory Breast Cancer in North Africa

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare, poorly understood and particularly aggressive
form of breast cancer characterized by diffuse erythema and edema/peau d'orange of the
breast. The proposed case-control study of risk factors for IBC will include approximately
400 IBC cases accrued over a two-year period in centers in four countries in North Africa
(the major cancer center and selected private clinicians in Tunisia, the major cancer center
in Egypt, 2 cancer centers in Algeria, and 2 cancer centers in Morocco). Two control groups
will be included: 1) 400 non-IBC breast cancer cases and; 2) 400 visitor controls (excluding
those with breast, ovarian, endometrial, and nasopharyngeal cancers) in the study hospitals.
The study will involve the administration of a questionnaire, anthropometric measurements,
and saliva collection for all study subjects. In addition, digital photographs of the
breasts will be collected for IBC cases, and a clinical examination form and
paraffin-embedded tumor tissue will be collected for IBC cases and non-IOBC breast cancer
controls. The study will be conducted as a consortium, with form development and translation
coordinated at the National Cancer Institute (USA). A review of study procedures will be
done after the first three months of data collection. The National Cancer Institute
(NCI)-Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), NCI-Office of International
Affairs (OIA), University of Michigan, and International Breast Cancer Research Foundation
(IBCRF) will provide funding for the project.