Correlation Between Site and Stage of Breast Cancer in Women

Introduction Breast cancer is a worldwide public health issue and a primary cause of death among women. The present study aimed to assess the correlation between site and stage of breast cancer with respect to age among females. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted at the Medical Oncology Department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Pakistan from May 2020 to June 2021. Female patients of 18 years or older with a confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer were included in the study. Histopathological reports were evaluated for tumor characteristics such as histological type, laterality, location, tumor size, grade, lymph node status, and stage of the tumor. Results The majority of the patients presented with advanced stages of tumor. Among all stages of breast tumor, the upper outer quadrant was the most frequent location of the tumor. The majority of the patients with cancer in the upper inner quadrant were diagnosed with stage I (28.57%) (p = 0.011). In contrast, the majority of the upper outer quadrant lesions were identified as stage III and stage IV (p < 0.0001). In patients of age <40 years, statistically significant differences in proportions of tumor location with respect to the stage of the tumor were observed (p = 0.018). Conclusion The upper outer quadrant and stage III of tumor are the most common site and stage of breast tumor in our population. There is a significant relationship between site and stage of breast tumor. Younger-aged patients had a significantly higher rate of cancers located in the upper outer quadrant in advance stages as compared to other quadrants.