Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring tumor and the first cause of death in females. Low level of understanding early symptoms leads to a late diagnosis and high mortality rates. Aims: To describe presenting symptoms, risk factors, and medical care delays among breast cancer patients in Iraq. Materials & Methods: A retrospective, descriptive study conducted in Al-Hussein center in Karbala province of Iraq between February 2012 and August 2020.Results: There were 101 female patients with breast cancer, median age was 45 years. Most of our patients diagnosed incidentally and only 17.82% of our patients were performing breast self examination. Lack of physical activity was the most common risk factors in more than 74% of patients. Painless breast lump was the most frequent symptom in 85.14% of patients. Majority of our patients 58.42% asked medical help within six months. Limited knowledge about symptoms was the common barriers for early diagnosis in 43.94% of patients. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge about breast cancer had a major concern in our region. Increasing awareness about early symptoms and risk factors is very important for early diagnosis and proper management.
Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cells neoplasm characterized by plasma cells clonal proliferation. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate incidence, prevalence and pattern of multiple myeloma (MM) in Middle Euphrates region of Iraq. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive conducted at Al-Hussein center in Karbala province of Iraq between February 2012 and February 2020. Results: A total of 78 patients with MM were included in this study, median age at presentation was 59.8 years, M:F ratio was 0.85:1. The most frequent presenting complain was bony lesions in 87.18% of patients, IgG was the most frequent paraprotient in 61.53% and VRD was the most common used protocol in 37.18% . Survival rate was higher in younger & female patients, while there was no correlation between myeloma defining events and early death in our study. Conclusion: MM presenting age in our region was close to other parts of Iraq and neighboring countries but younger than western countries with female predominance. Giving that the majority of the patients presented with advance stage disease, therefore raising awareness of early symptoms is recommended for early diagnosis and proper management.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.