Sociodemographic and Clinical Profile of Patients Presenting with Breast Cancer at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer, a type of cancer that originates in the breast tissue, is considered as an important public health problem in all the countries, especially in the developing countries. It is the commonest malignancy affecting women worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the sociodemographic and clinical profile of confirmed breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study done at State Cancer Institute, Guwahati. Data of Breast Cancer patients registered during the five-year study period (2018- 2022) were collected from Hospital Based Cancer Registry (HBCR) and the institutional ICMR-NCDIR (National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research Department). The parameters taken for study were age, sex, marital status, religion, education level, residence (urban/rural), stage at time of presentation, primary histology and morphology, histological type, laterality (right/left), the quadrant of the breast involved and metastasis. Results: A total of 1563 cases were analyzed of which 1529 were female (97.83%) and 34 were male (2.17%) with a male female ratio of 1:45. The age of patients ranged between 16 to 84 years and majority were urban based. Carcinoma on right breast was more common, upper outer quadrant of the breast was the most commonly affected site. Most of the patients presented in Stage II (41%) and 15% of the patients were in Stage IV with metastasis. Bony metastasis was the commonest (47%) followed by lung metastasis (27%). NOS was the most common Primary Histology –Morphology. Conclusion: The pattern found in our study was similar to other Indian studies where breast cancer is common among younger age groups in contrast to western countries where breast cancer is seen in post-menopausal women. Most of the patients presented in the advanced stage. The results show a trend in rise of prevalence in younger age groups, more males affected than previous studies and presentation in the advanced stage. There is urgent need for awareness programs, population screening for early diagnosis of breast cancer which will improve the overall outcome of management of breast cancer.