The Ten-Year Survival Rate for Breast Cancer Females in Kurdistan/Iraq: Special Facts and Features

Abstract

Background and objective: Worldwide, breast cancer varies widely in survival rate and age at first diagnosis. Owing to the limited follow up database in developing areas, this study aimed to estimate the 10-years survival rate for breast cancer in Kurdistan/Iraq and correlate it with clinicopathological variables. Methodology: This follow-up study included 160 breast cancer patients diagnosed before 2010. Their data were obtained from Duhok/central lab. Survivors and families of deceased cases were contacted to approve the survivor. Cases were reviewed for variables including estrogen and HER-2 status. Results: The mean age of patients was 44.9 years. Only 66 of them (41.2%) survived for 10-years. None of the survivors was below 30 or above 70 years. Death rate was significantly high between 30-39 years. The survival rate was highest (75.8%) between 40-49 years. The lymph nodes involvement was seen in 61.87% with statistically higher mortality rate. Estrogen was positive in > ¾ of patients (76.9%) which was statistically high among survivors. However, in deceased group estrogen positivity was also high (41.88%), while HER-2 were only significant between 40-49 years. Conclusion: The relatively low survival rate, the young age at first diagnosis, despite the high estrogen receptors positivity are facts can’t be explained by delay treatment and need thorough search for a possible genetic or other underling rezone.