breast cancer is a major disease burden at the global level. According to the World Health Report 2008, cancer is one of the top 10 leading causes of death.(1) It is estimated that 7.4 million people died of cancer in 2004 and, if current trends continue, 83.2 million more will have died of cancer by 2015. Among women, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality, accounting for 16 percent of cancer deaths in adult women. Even though the incidence of breast cancer tends to be higher in developed countries than developing countries, breast cancer mortality is higher in the developing world.(