Profile of breast cancer patients at a tertiary care hospital in north India.

We carried out this study in order to know the epidemiology and management strategies for breast cancer patients in our patient population. The epidemiological data pertaining to demography and risk factors for carcinoma breast were analyzed retrospectively in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital of North India. Hospital records of 304 patients admitted for over a period of five years (January 1998 to December 2002) were used for data analysis. Paired T-test. Mean age of our female breast cancer patients was found to be lower compared to the western world, with an average difference of one decade. A majority of the patients were from a rural background and had a longer duration of symptoms compared to urban patients. Lump in the breast was a dominant symptom. Familial breast cancer was uncommon. Left sided breast cancer was slightly preponderant. Screening by mammography and staging procedures such as bone scan, Computed Tomography (CT) scan, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were sparsely used. The most common histology was infiltrating duct carcinoma. Modified radical mastectomy was found to be a safe operative procedure. Breast conservative surgery, although considered the gold standard in early breast cancer, was found unsuitable for our patients, due to the social background and lack of intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy backup. Infiltrating duct carcinoma was more commonly associated with positive lymph nodes compared to other histopathologies. Cases operated by surgical oncologists had better axillary clearance. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was used mainly by surgical oncologists suggesting a more rational approach toward the management of breast carcinoma.