Changes in the aetiological factors pattern of breast cancer in Basrah : a prospective study

Abstract EN

This is a prospective case control study conducted over a period of two years to evaluate the risk factors of breast cancer in Basrah.

One hundred and ten female patients with carcinoma of breast were admitted to the general surgical department in three main referral hospitals in Basrah and those attended to Basrah breast clinic, compared with (140) women who had no breast cancer from the population as a control group were included in the study.

The patients were diagnosed to have breast cancer according to the results of fine needle aspiration cytology biopsy and the results of histopathological examination of excisional biopsy taken from the primary growth in the breast.

The study involved history, physical examination, laboratory & radiological investigations, ultrasonic study and the results of fine needle aspiration cytology biopsy and histopathological examination.

The data showed that the range of age of the group affected was (41-50 years) ; the patients were mostly from urban areas (66.36 %) ; the married patients were most commonly affected than single patients (77.27 %).

Most of them (76.3 %) had a history of breast feeding and (27.2 %) of patients had a history of contraceptive pills taking.

Sixty two patients had acceptable range of body mass index, and seven patients only had a family history of breast cancer.

The study showed that the epidemiological pattern of the risk factors of breast cancer were altered to some extent according to the environmental, psychological and nutritional changes that occurred in our country in the last decades.