Effect of First Student Breast Cancer Conference on Participants Knowledge of Breast Cancer Levels

Introduction : Breast cancer is the leading cause of mortality in women and constitutes 14% of female cancer deaths. It has a high prevalence among women in Iran and includes 21.4% of all the cancers. Since breast cancer is a progressive disease, small tumors are more likely to be at an early stage and their early detection is more likely to have a better prognosis and more successful treatment and having sufficient and correct knowledge about breast cancer leads to detecting the tumor in early stages. Objectives : To investigate the knowledge and attitude of medical students regarding risk factors and symptoms of breast cancer before and after the lectures and the effects of these conferences on their knowledge and attitude. Methods:An interventional study was conducted using a structured self-administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge of students about breast cancer levels incluiding risk factors and attitude about it.101 medical students who were participated in the first student conference of breast cancer were included in this study.Results: 60% of participants were female and 40% were male. The mean age of them was 21.1 and the younger participant was 18 the older was 39 .The mean knowledge increased significantly from 45.7 in the pre-test to 76.8 in the post-test .Not having any idea option decreased from 28.4 to 5.13.There knowledge of participant was low but increased with participating in lectures. The knowledge of female was higher than males.Conclusion: The study points the insufficient knowledge of medical students before the conference ,therefore, there is a need to such relevant educational programs to improve their knowledge levels of breast cancer