Breast cancer - Clinicopathological profile at a tertiary cancer center in India

Breast cancer patients from different regions have different demographics. Therefore, we conducted this study to report the clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients at our center and compare them with information from other studies. This retrospective descriptive study, which included 816 patients registered in the two years between October 2021 and September 2023, was conducted in the Department of Medical Oncology at a Government Tertiary Cancer Care Center in Southern India. At the first presentation, the median age was 49 years old and a majority were post menopausal. Breast lumps were the most frequent presenting complaints, accounting for 636 cases (77.9%) and 115 cases (14.09%) of axillary edema. In 19.9% (162/816) of the patients, a history of breast cancer in the family was evident. Of the patients, 594 had hormone receptor positivity, making up 72.8%. 202 cases, or nearly 25% of the total, were positive for Her 2/neu by FISH or IHC. 178 (21.9%) patients had triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The majority of patients (46.8%) presented late in Stage III. In the case of stage IV disease, there were more cases of skeletal metastases (40.3%) than visceral. Our study shows a present scenario of breast cancer patients in Southern India. The majority of patients were post-menopausal. Also, there is an increased number of Hormone receptor-positive patients—more proportion of metastatic disease with skeletal metastasis than other sites. There is a need to increase awareness about breast cancer, alleviate fears, and educate about the importance of screening, timely diagnosis, and treatment. Such studies provide baseline data on the magnitude of the problem and help in looking into the solutions.

Breast cancer - Clinicopathological profile at a tertiary cancer center in India Keywords:

Breast cancer , female cancer , Indian cancer , Epidemiology breast cancer , common cancer