Profile of Breast Cancer in a Group of Women in a Developing Country in South Asia: Is There a Difference?

There has been no systematic appraisal of ethnicity-based variations in breast cancer (BC) biology amongst women from developing countries. A qualitative systematic review was conducted of breast cancer size, stage, grade, histological type, extra-mammary involvement, hormone receptor status as well as patient demographics. This review includes patients from Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. BC in these regions present at an earlier age with large aggressive tumours. Distant metastases are frequently present at the time of diagnosis. African women have a higher frequency of triple negative tumours. Over half of Middle Eastern women have lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis. Despite experiencing a lower incidence compared to the Ashkenazi Jewish population, Palestinian women have poorer five-year survival outcomes. The majority of women from Mexico and South America have stage two or three disease whilst over sixty percent of women from Eastern Europe have either stage one or stage two disease. The biological characteristics of BC in the Caribbean cannot be fully assessed due to a paucity of data from the region. BC amongst the developing world is characterised by an early peak age of onset with aggressive biological characteristics. Strategies that improve breast cancer awareness, address amenable risk factors and improve early detection are essential.

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“…Lokuhetty et al reported a mean age at presentation of 52 years with 32% of patients between 50 to 59 years of age [9]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Breast Cancer Biology in Developing Countries (Part 2): Asian Subcontinent and South East Asia

Bhikoo

Srinivasa

et al. 2011

Cancers

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“…Additional studies from India and Sri Lanka also report a high prevalence of ER-negative breast cancers [ Table 4]. [28][29][30] A common feature of these countries is that they are all poor countries with generally poor sanitation, lack of clean drinking water, relative inaccessibility to health care and medicines (especially antibiotics), and crowded living conditions. All of these factors contribute to frequent exposures to infectious agents, beginning at an early age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Biology of breast cancer in Nigerian women: A pilot study

et al. 2012

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Our findings indicate that breast cancers in Nigerian women have a highly aggressive phenotype (high grade, hormone receptor negative), which is similar to other studies from Africa and other developing nations, as well as from African American women, but is significantly different from Caucasian women in the developed world. The presence of high numbers of TAMs in these tumors raises the possibility of targeting the immune microenvironment for therapeutic interventions.

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“…The younger age at presentation is a feature of breast cancer patients in most of the developing countries like India (Dinshaw et al, 2005;Saxena et al, 2005;Agarwal et al, 2007), SriLanka (Lokuhetty et al, 2009) and Cameroon (Ngowa et al, 2011). The younger age range of patients in Pakistan and the other developing countries may be explained by the younger age structure and the lower life expectancy of their women.…”

Section: 693 Clinicopathologic Profile Of Breast Cancer Patients In mentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinicopathologic Profile of Breast Cancer Patients in Pakistan: Ten Years Data of a Local Cancer Hospital

Khokher¹,

Qureshi²,

Riaz³

et al. 2012

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

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Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer of women worldwide, with considerable geographic and racial/ ethnic variation. Data are generally derived from population based cancer registries in the developed countries but hospital data are the most reliable source in the developing countries. Ten years data from 1st Jan 2000 to 31st Dec 2009 of a cancer hospital in Pakistan were here analyzed by descriptive statistics to evaluate the clinicopathologic profile of local breast cancer patients. Among 28,740 cancer patients, 6,718 were registered as breast cancer. The female to male ratio was 100:2. Breast cancer accounted for 23% of all and 41% of female cancers. Some 46% were residents of Lahore, with a mean age of 47±12 years. Less than 1% were at Stage 0 and 10%, 32%, 35% and 23% were at Stage I, II, III and IV respectively. Histopathology was unknown in 4% while 91%, 2% and 1% had invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and mucinous carcinoma respectively. Rare carcinomas accounted for the rest. Tumor grade 1, 2 and 3 was 11%, 55% and 34% among the known. Profile of breast cancer patients in Pakistan follows a pattern similar to that of other developing countries with earlier peak age and advanced disease stage at presentation. The male breast cancer accounts for higher proportion in the local population. Local women have higher frequency of IDC and lower frequency of ILC and DCIS, owing probably to a different risk profile. Use of hospital information systems and establishment of population based cancer registry is required to have accurate and detailed local data. Promotion of breast health awareness and better health care system is required to decrease the burden of advanced disease.

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Profile of Breast Cancer in a Group of Women in a Developing Country in South Asia: Is There a Difference?

Abstract: The overall profile of breast cancer and immune characteristics of Sri Lankan women in this study was largely comparable to profiles documented elsewhere in the region despite the lower prevalence of ER.

Cited by 23 publications

References 14 publications

Systematic Review of Breast Cancer Biology in Developing Countries (Part 2): Asian Subcontinent and South East Asia

Systematic Review of Breast Cancer Biology in Developing Countries (Part 2): Asian Subcontinent and South East Asia

Biology of breast cancer in Nigerian women: A pilot study

Clinicopathologic Profile of Breast Cancer Patients in Pakistan: Ten Years Data of a Local Cancer Hospital

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