Rate of Breast Cancer in Italy Significantly Higher Than Previously Reported

PHILADELPHIA, July 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new analysis of the
incidence of breast cancer in Italy per 100,000 women between the ages of 0 to
84 from 2000 to 2005 shows a 72 percent spike above official estimates issued
by the Ministry of Health, with the sharpest uptick of +28.6 percent found in
the youngest group studied (ages 25 to 44).

The new results, which rely on hospitalization databases that track major
breast surgeries rather than official estimations computed using statistical
models, appear in The Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research.

"Our findings show that women under 45 who are not currently enrolled in
secondary prevention programs, should be considered for receiving regular
mammograms," says Prisco Piscitelli, Ph.D., of the CROM (Cancer Research
Center) in Mercogliano, Italy, one of the study's authors. "The results also
strongly suggests that measures for adopting primary preventative measures to
investigate and eliminate dietary, behavioral and environmental causes of
breast cancer, such as estrogen in food, hormone pills, smoking, dioxin and
pollution."

The study was done by a multidisciplinary team of researchers
(epidemiologists, oncologists, radiologists and surgeons) Antonio Giordano,
M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and
Molecular Medicine and Director of the Center for Biotechnology at Temple
University in Philadelphia, PA and 'Chiara fama' Professor in the Department
of Human Pathology & Oncology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Overall, the incidence of breast cancer from 2000 to 2005 among all age groups
was 26.5 percent higher than official estimations. The incidence of breast
cancer per 100,000 women aged 0 to 84 years was 141.80 in the year 2000 and
160.85 in 2005, a 13.4 percent increase. This is 72 percent higher than that
provided by official estimations of the Ministry of Health (93 per 100,000
women aged 0 to 84). There was an increase among all groups studied: +9.4
percent in people aged 45 to 64; +11.7 percent in people aged 64 to 75 and
+15.7% over 75 years old.

But the most important finding of the study reveals that the highest increase
in the incidence rate per 100,000 was observed among women below 45: +28.6
percent in people 25 to 44.

The new analysis examines the number of major surgeries (mastectomies and
quadrantectomies) attributed to breast cancer over six years and by age group.
Their results show that over that period, 100,745 mastectomies and 168,147
quadrantectomies were performed. A total of 41,608 major surgeries due to
breast cancer were performed in the year 2000, a figure that rose to 47,200 in
2005, signifying a 13.8 percent rise over the six years.

By comparison, official estimations from the Italian Ministry of Health
tallied only 37,300 cases in the year 2005.

Until now, official epidemiological data concerning the incidence of breast
cancer in Italy has been computed using a statistical model
(MIAMOD--Morality-Incidence Analysis MODel) based on mortality and survival
data. The newly published analysis relies on hospitalization databases that
track major breast surgeries.

The current study notes that while use of MIAMOD may be justified in light of
the need to evaluate the incidence of all tumors, the figures may
underestimate the number of breast cancers, since many deaths that occur at
home or in hospital settings might be attributed to cardiovascular causes on
the statistical form filled out by physicians.

Sbarro Health Research Organization (www.shro.org), a nonprofit charitable
organization, is a leader in cancer, cardiovascular, and diabetes research,
and supports the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine
located at the Center for Biotechnology in the College of Science & Technology
at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information,
visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE Sbarro Health Research Organization

Ilene Raymond Rush of Sbarro Health Research Organization, +1-215-635-5162,
+1-215-470-2998, irush@shro.org