Assessing the incidence, epidemiological description and associated risk factors of breast cancer in western Amhara, Ethiopia

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed at assessing the incidence, epidemiological description and associated risk factors of breast cancer in western Amhara, Ethiopia. Patients & methods: A total of 128 breast cancer patients being treated at Feleget Hiwot Referral Hospital (Bahir Dar, Ethiopia) were subjects of the study. Investigators controlled data quality and employed the ordinal logistic regression model to identify the effect of factors. Results: Of the 128 breast cancer patients under study, 119 (93%) were females. Most of the patients, 67 (52.34%), had advanced stage (IV) cancer that reduced their chance to recover after treatment. Conclusion: Patients who received chemotherapy and surgery for breast cancer were likely to improve than patients who received only chemotherapy. As the stage of breast cancer increased, the likelihood of the patient’s status to be improved decreases. Patients from rural areas, where healthcare services are rarely available, were less likely to recover or improve as compared with those from urban areas.