RISK PROFILE FOR BREAST CARCINOMA AND TUMOUR HISTOPATHOLOGY OF MEDICAL UNINSURED PATIENTS IN PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Uzma Raza
  • Aziza Khanam
  • Meh- Jabeen
  • Mohammad Furqan
  • Saleem -ul- Haque

Abstract

Background: Breast carcinoma is an unpredictable disease in the sense that some patients may die atearly disease stage due to wide-spread metastasis within six months to one year, while others maysurvive longer. This study was aimed to evaluate the risk factors for breast carcinoma occurrence andhistopathological features of breast carcinoma developed in the social and economical conditions ofPakistan. Methods: A total of 224 female breast cancer diagnosed patients with uncovered medicalinsurance visiting at the Oncology clinic of a teaching hospital at Karachi, Pakistan were selected for thestudy. Two hundred and twenty-four (224) healthy female subjects free of any cancer diagnosis wereselected as control from different areas of the city. Information on stress, occupation, life history, and lifestyle was obtained through personal interviews. Breast tumour pathology was evaluated for histologicalgrade, lymph node metastasis and hormone receptor status by using standard methods. Student’s t-test,Chi-square test and ANOVA were used for comparison. Results: Breast cancer patients in significantlyhigh percentage reported early marriages, abortion occurrence, stressful life style, family cancer historyand past disease suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Life style including aerosol chewing and fatrich food intake was significantly high among the patients (p<0.05). On histopathological analysis,patients at the age of 40 years and below were identified in significantly high percentage with tumourgrade III, 1–3 lymph node metastasis and hormone receptor negative type. Increasing age was associatedwith low tumour grade and less percentage of lymph node metastasis. Significantly high percentage ofpatients were presented with hormone receptor positive tumour (p<0.05). Conclusion: The contributingfactors for breast carcinoma occurrence were related to life history and life-style of the patients. Medicalinsurance uncovered patients at initial diagnosis were presented in significantly high percentage withadvanced disease including high tumour grade and lymph node metastasis due to less use of preventiveand screening service which delays the diagnosis, effecting both survival and treatment cost.Keywords: Pakistan, Risk Factors, Breast cancer, Women

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Published

2011-06-01