Online ISSN: 2515-8260

Prevalence Of Risk Factors In Breast Cancer In Female Patients At A Rural Hospital

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Khushboo Votavat1 , Dipak Shinde2 , Harnale Suraj3 , Rushab Bothra4

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a major health concern in India, with an estimated 266,000 new cases and 74,000 deaths annually. The prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer in India is of great concern, as it is one of the most common types of cancer among women in the country. The present study aimed to assess several established risk factors for breast cancer, including age, family history, and lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity. In India, the average age at diagnosis for breast cancer is typically 10-15 years younger than in Western countries, which may be due to differences in reproductive and hormonal factors. Material and Methods: Present study was prospective and retrospective, conducted in patients with malignancy, lesions diagnosed on the basis of histopathological examination (TNM staging system) were considered as cases. Results: In the present study, The mean age of the study subjects was 51.20±10.8 years. The majority of the participant was of >50 years of age (n=213, 42.6%) followed by 41-50 years (n=195, 39%) and <40 years (n=92, 18.4%). The mean weight of the patients was 63.34±8.12 kg. Most of the subjects had 57-68 kg of weight (n=138, 39.6%) followed by 23.4% (n=117), 15.6% (n=78,) 10.8% (n=54), and 10.6% (n=53) of the subjects belonged to 49-58 kg, 69-78 kg, >78kg and 38-48 kg weight category respectively. The mean age at menarche in patients was found to be 12.47±1.42 years. In 52.4% (n=262) of the patients, the age at menarche was 10-12 years. Whereas, in 46% (n=230), 0.8% (n=4), and 0.8% (n=4) of patients it was 13-14 years, <10 years, and >14 years respectively. The mean age of the patients at first childbirth was 22.35±4.89 years. Most of the patients had their first child at 20-24 years of age (49.4%, n=247) followed by 34.8% (n=174), 11.6% (n=58), and 4.2% (n=21) of patients it was at <20 years, 25-29 years, ≥30 years of age respectively. The mean number of pregnancies in study subjects was 2.67±4.18. The majority of patients had 1-2 pregnancies (49.6%, n=248) followed by 35.6% (n=178), 9.4% (n=47), and 5.4% (n=27) of the patients had 3-4, 0, and >4 pregnancies. In 79.4% (n=397) of patients, the duration of breastfeeding was >6 months whereas in 20.6% (n=103) patients the duration of breastfeeding was 4-6 months. Among the study subjects, 3.4% (n=17) of the patients had a family history of breast cancer whereas, it was absent in the majority of the subjects (96.6%, n=483). A history of oral contraceptive use was noted in only 4.4% (n=22) of patients, only 0.6% of the patients had a history of hormone replacement therapy. The majority of study subjects were housewives (60.4%, n=302) whereas, the occupation of 12.6% (n=63), 2.6% (n=13), 0.4% (n=2), 3.8% (n=19), and 20.2% (n=101) of patients were service, retired, student, self-employed, and other respectively. 51% (n=255) of the subject had premenopausal status whereas, 49% (n=245) of the subjects were with postmenopausal status. Modifiable risk factors were observed in 10% (n=50) of the patients including obesity, smoking, and use of other drugs in 5% (n=25), 1% (n=5), and 4% (n=20) of patientsrespectively. Conclusion: The common modifiable risk factors commonly attributed to breast cancer were not correlating and trends were observed to vary in this rural setup.

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