Factors Causing Delayed Presentations of Breast Cancer among Female patients in Sulaimaniyah Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

Abstract Background: Since breast cancer (BC) has the best chance of being effectively treated when it is tiny and has not spread, encouraging early disease detection remains a fundamental goal in improving prognosis. Objective: To better understand what factors contribute to a late presentation of BC, how this affects disease progression, and to assess awareness of BC warning signs. Patients and methods: Data was collected at the Breast Diseases Treatment Clinic, Shar Teaching Hospital, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq Sulaimani, from January 2017 to December 2021 on 429 patients. A questionnaire was distributed to women about their demographics, health, and general awareness of the disease. The patient delay was calculated by collecting information on when they initially began experiencing symptoms and when they saw a doctor. We also gleaned information about the tumour's clinicopathological features from the patient's medical records. Results: The participants' age ranged from 24 to 85 years, with a mean of 49.6±11. Most women were middle-aged (53.8%), from urban areas (80.2%), illiterate (41.7%), married (86.5%), housewives (79.0%), given birth to>4 children (34%), practised breastfeeding (78.8%), and no smokers (91.4%). Regarding patients' health behaviours associated with delay in breast cancer presentation, there were highly significant correlations between early and late screenings (P<0.001). Concerning the patient’s awareness of breast cancer symptoms, there were highly significant correlations between early and late screenings (P<0.001). In addition, the late presentation was strongly correlated with bilateral BC, lymph node involvement, inflammatory breast carcinoma, grade III of BC, and T4 status. Conclusions: Our findings shed light on possible causes of late presentation and identified those at risk of delayed consultation. Our communities need to be educated about BC, and encouraging them for early detection, decreases the incidence of advanced BC.