Gebremedhin A, Shamebo M
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
East Afr Med J. 1998 Nov;75(11):640-3.
This prospective study was designed to obtain information on demographic characteristics, clinical profile and problems related to early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in 72 Ethiopian patients. There were 62 females and 10 males, the female to male ratio being 6.2:1. The age range of the females was 21-82 (mean 41.8 +/- 12.8) years and that of the males' was 38-75 (mean 52.1 +/- 12.2) years. The time interval between the onset of breast-related symptoms to diagnosis varied from 2-108 (median 12) months. Infiltrating ductal and lobular carcinoma histologic types accounted for 85% and 11%, respectively, in 62 cases who had surgical biopsies. Surgery was performed in 46 cases out of whom only 21 cases received adjuvant treatment. Eighteen females refused mastectomy at some point before they came to our clinic with metastatic disease. After a median follow up duration of 36 (range 2-120) months, 29 cases were alive, 24 died and 19 were lost to follow up. The cause of death in 17 subjects (71%) was rapidly refilling pleural effusion and superimposed infection. Both females and males had similar clinical characteristics, except that, the males were older by 10 years. Moreover, the females in this series developed breast cancer at a younger age (72% were premenopausal) and 76% had advanced disease (Stages III and IV) at presentation, similar to females from other African countries. We suggest that the attitude of Ethiopian females towards breast cancer has to change through continuous but targeted public education.
这项前瞻性研究旨在获取72例埃塞俄比亚乳腺癌患者的人口统计学特征、临床概况以及与早期诊断和治疗相关的问题。其中有62名女性和10名男性，男女比例为6.2:1。女性年龄范围为21 - 82岁（平均41.8±12.8岁），男性年龄范围为38 - 75岁（平均52.1±12.2岁）。从出现乳腺相关症状到确诊的时间间隔为2 - 108个月（中位数为12个月）。在62例行手术活检的病例中，浸润性导管癌和小叶癌组织学类型分别占85%和11%。46例患者接受了手术，其中只有21例接受了辅助治疗。18名女性在因转移性疾病前来我们诊所之前的某个时候拒绝了乳房切除术。经过36个月（范围2 - 120个月）的中位随访期后，29例患者存活，24例死亡，19例失访。17名受试者（71%）的死亡原因是迅速再发胸腔积液并伴有叠加感染。除男性年龄比女性大10岁外，男性和女性具有相似的临床特征。此外，该系列中的女性患乳腺癌的年龄较轻（72%为绝经前），且76%在就诊时患有晚期疾病（III期和IV期），这与其他非洲国家的女性相似。我们建议通过持续且有针对性的公众教育来改变埃塞俄比亚女性对乳腺癌的态度。
