Age and stage of breast cancer in Pakistan: An experience at a tertiary care center.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the age and stage of breast cancer in a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan.

METHODS

This retrospective, descriptive study was conducted at Breast Unit, Department of Surgery, Liaquat National Hospital Karachi, Pakistan. From 1994 to 2016 all biopsy-proven breast cancer patients were reviewed and their age and stage at presentation were noted .

RESULTS

In the given time period 10, 018 patients with Breast cancer were registered. The most frequent age at diagnosis was in the fourth decade of life (28.51%). The majority of patients were diagnosed in stage 2 (47.26%) and only less than 4% were detected in stage 1. The stage of presentation did not differ between young and older age group of women.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast cancer is diagnosed at a younger age group in Pakistan, at least a decade earlier than the west and at an advanced stage, commonest being stage 2.