Rahool Raja, Haider Ghulam, Hayat Muhammad, Shaikh Mehwish R, Memon Paras, Pawan Bhunisha, Abbas Kiran
Oncology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, PAK.
Medicine, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, PAK.
Cureus. 2021 Feb 9;13(2):e13242. doi: 10.7759/cureus.13242.
Introduction The frequency of breast cancer (BC) is increasing among Pakistani females. It has been estimated that one out every nine women is predicted to develop BC, which is the highest disease occurring rate in the Asian population. The study aimed to evaluate the factors responsible for delay in diagnosis of BC in Sindh, Pakistan. Methodology This study was conducted at the Medical Oncology Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Karachi from December 2018 to June 2019. All women between 17 and 80 years diagnosed with BC who had treatment delay of more than six months were included in the study using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The face-to-face interviews were conducted by the researcher himself and all the data regarding demographics and factors related to treatment delay of BC was noted in a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Appointment delay was significantly associated with a treatment-seeking delay in patients (p=0.03). Lack of awareness was another significant factor associated with treatment delay in BC patients. About 50 (70.4%) women who reported a lack of awareness sought treatment after 10 months of their first onset of symptoms (p=0.001). Cultural beliefs were a significant cause of treatment delay of 10-12 months in 71.8% of patients (p=0.021). Financial constraints significantly correlated with treatment delay (p=0.015). Conclusion The cultural beliefs, poor financial status, and lack of awareness are the significant factors for the treatment delay in BC patients. Promoting female health awareness can tackle many of these issues.
引言 在巴基斯坦女性中，乳腺癌（BC）的发病率正在上升。据估计，每九名女性中就有一人预计会患上乳腺癌，这是亚洲人群中发病率最高的疾病。本研究旨在评估巴基斯坦信德省乳腺癌诊断延迟的相关因素。
方法 本研究于2018年12月至2019年6月在卡拉奇真纳研究生医学中心的医学肿瘤学部门进行。采用非概率连续抽样技术，纳入所有年龄在17至80岁之间、被诊断为乳腺癌且治疗延迟超过六个月的女性。由研究人员本人进行面对面访谈，并将所有关于人口统计学和与乳腺癌治疗延迟相关因素的数据记录在一份结构化问卷中。使用SPSS 23版（IBM公司，纽约州阿蒙克）进行数据分析。
结果 预约延迟与患者寻求治疗的延迟显著相关（p = 0.03）。缺乏认识是与乳腺癌患者治疗延迟相关的另一个重要因素。约50名（70.4%）报告缺乏认识的女性在首次出现症状10个月后才寻求治疗（p = 0.001）。文化信仰是71.8%的患者治疗延迟10至12个月的重要原因（p = 0.021）。经济限制与治疗延迟显著相关（p = 0.015）。
结论 文化信仰、经济状况不佳和缺乏认识是乳腺癌患者治疗延迟的重要因素。提高女性健康意识可以解决其中许多问题。
