Population differences in ovarian cancer in Israel

One hundred and seven patients with epithelial carcinoma of the ovaries were studied in an Israeli population in the Tel Aviv area. The women under study belonged mainly to two ethnic groups: European and North American (Ashkenazi) and Afro-Asian immigrants. The highest incidence of this neoplasm was found in the Ashkenazi group and the lowest in the Afro-Asian (less than 50%). It has been found that there is an age variation in the onset of the disease between the two ethnic groups. The average age of all the patients was 57 years, but in the Afro-Asian group of patients, the malignancy was more commonly found in the 45-54 age group (P less than 0.05). A tendency of a shorter survival rate due to more aggressive disease in the Afro-Asian group was observed. Survival rate for patients with FIGO stages I and II was lower in the Afro-Asian group. These conclusions were supported by the statistical significance of the data.