Breast Cancer in Basra Oncology Center: A Clinico- Epidemiological Analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women, and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate clinico-epidemiological features of breast cancer from Iraq during a five-year period. METHODOLOGY: This is a retrospective descriptive study. Medical notes and histopathological reports of patients with confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer between January 2011 and December 2015 were reviewed for age, gender, site, laterality, histopathological type, grade of differentiation and TNM stage at diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 1,000 patients were included in the study. Mean age at diagnosis was 50 years (range 22-85 years), and females constituted 99.2% of cases. Most cases (98.7%) were unilateral and most common (85.5%) histological subtype was invasive ductal carcinoma. Majority of the cases (58%) were moderately differentiated (grade II), wherein 45% belonged to stage II in TNM system, and nearly half (49%) of patients had locally advanced or metastatic cancer. CONCLUSION: Breast cancer presents at least a decade earlier and at a more advanced stage in Iraqi women when compared to the Western World. Steps for early detection are essential for initiation of prompt therapy and reduction of mortality.