Age at Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is responsible for up to 25% of all cancers in Iran. The age at diagnosis of Iranian breast cancer patients starts a decade earlier than most of developed countries. This study aimed to evaluate the mean age at diagnosis of Iranian breast cancer patients. METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the mean age at diagnosis of Iranian breast cancer patients and its pattern between 2008 and 2017, were evaluated. All papers with age at diagnosis of histopathological verified breast cancer patients were considered eligible to enter to the analysis. We used databases including Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library, Iranmedex and SID for the search process. The meta-analysis was performed only on studies with separate data for female patients, using random-effects model, Mantel and Haenszel method and the Comprehensive Meta-analysis software. RESULTS: Finally, 92 studies with 19,784 patients (both-genders) were included. The mean age at diagnosis had increased from 47.93 (2008) to 49.91 (2016) years. The meta-analysis was done on 78 studies containing of 15,071 female patients and the mean age at diagnosis was 46.76±1.19. There was a wide range of age at diagnosis within different provinces. The mean age at Hamadan and Khuzestan provinces were the lowest and highest, respectively (42.48±7.96 vs. 51.00±11.47). The heterogeneity of studies was statistically significant (I(2)=99.744). CONCLUSION: Mean age at diagnosis of Iranian women with breast cancer was 46.76±1.19. There was an increasing pattern in mean age of diagnosis at breast cancer patients within the past 10 years.