Spectrum of Breast Cancer in Malaysian Women: Overview

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women. Nonetheless, in Malaysia there is a marked geographical difference in the incidence of breast cancer with advanced stage of presentation. The breast clinic in Kuala Lumpur Hospital diagnosed approximately 150 to 200 new cases of breast cancer a year. This number, however, represents only 12.0% to 15.0% of all breast disease seen annually in Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Between 1998 and 2001, of a total of 774 cases of newly diagnosed breast cancer in Kuala Lumpur Hospital, only 5.0% (40/774) were impalpable breast cancers. The peak age group for the three major ethnic distributions (Malay, Chinese, and Indian) ranged from 40 to 49 years. The mean tumor size at presentation was 5.4 cm (range: 1-20 cm), and the advanced stage of breast cancer is observed to be highest among the Malay ethnic group. Although it appears that the incidence of breast cancer in Malaysia is lower than in the developed countries, the difference may be attributable to the difficulty in getting accurate statistics and to underreporting of cases. Nonetheless, from the available data, it is clear that breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer among Malaysian women. The strongly negative social-cultural perception of the disease, made worse by the geographical isolation of many rural areas, accounts for the delayed diagnosis and the often advanced stage of disease at presentation. A prospective population-based study is called for to verify the demographic patterns of breast cancer, particular in Malaysia and other developing countries. The findings of such a study may have implications for future breast screening programs and for facilitating the understanding of differing risks of breast cancer among women around the world.

Predictors of Mammography Screening among Iranian Women Attending Outpatient Clinics in Tehran, Iran

“…The results of some studies carried out in Korea (Lee et al, 2000;Im, et al, 2004), Singapore (Straughn and Seow, 2000) Malaysia (Hisham and Yip, 2003), Iran (Jarvandi et al, 2002) showed that not only the women did not perceive the importance of early detection of breast cancer, but also they had inadequate knowledge on breast cancer and screening test.…”

Knowledge of Female Undergraduate Students on Breast Cancer and Breast Self-examination in Klang Valley, Malaysia

“…Cultural and social perceptions of breast cancer are the most important factors in the presentation of breast cancer at the advanced stage among Malaysian breast cancer patients (Hisham and Yip, 2003). Breast cancer not only threatens the life of a woman but also effects her body image and gender identity (Parsa et al, 2008).…”

Validation of Electrical Impedance Tomography Qualitative and Quantitative Values and Comparison of the Numeric Pain Distress Score against Mammography

“…The univariate analysis done in this study encountered that the risk factors within Gail Model have no significant correlation with different mammography findings in this subjects groups which is relatively similar with the finding in a study within Indian subjects (Challa et al, 2013). Despite that, as the Gail Model had been validated in several studies to be able to predict individual risk in contracting breast cancer, we find it will be very beneficial to use the key risks pointed out by the model as our covariates and cofactors (Hisham and Yip, 2003).…”

“…Until to date the best prevention program in Malaysia to fight breast cancer is still depending on breast selfexamination and annual mammography screening after the age of 40 years old (Hisham and Yip, 2003). The fact that mammography procedure involves exposure to X-ray radiation limits the age group of screening and painful compression had made this procedure less popular in our population (Dahlui et al, 2013).…”