PO89 ADVANCED BREAST CANCER IN ETHIOPIA: CHARACTERISTICS AND FOLLOW-UP OF 148 PATIENTS WITH STAGE 4 DISEASE

Abstract

“Mother Theresa” in Albania throughout 6 years to assess their clinical characteristics and treatment of these patients. Methods: We reviewed hospital breast cancer records, from January 2007 to December 2012, to evaluate multiple variables like age, clinical and pathological stage, histological report, subtype, surgery type, chemotherapy and response to neoadjuvant treatment of patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Results: Between 2007 and 2012 at our Service are diagnosted each year averagely 350 new cases with breast cancer. From them 254 patients are diagnosted and treated with locally advanced breast cancer. The mean age of treated patients was 54 years (range 33-85 years) and in 56% (142 patients) of them the tumor was located in the right breast and in 44% (112 patients) in the left breast. 9% of patients was diagnosed at stage IIIA, 57% at stage IIIB, and 34% at stage IIIC. Histopathological data revealed that in 68% of cases the tumor was an invasive ductal carcinoma, 26% an invasive lobular carcinoma, 4% a medullary carcinoma and in 2% a papillary carcinoma. Based on the subtype 38% of the cases were luminal A, 14% luminal B, 16% basal like, 8% Her2neu over-expressed and in 24% unknown. The majority of the cases treated in this period underwent surgery first (64% mastectomy and 3% quadrantectomy) and then to adjuvant treatment. Only 31% of the cases were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and from them 2 patients had pathological complet response, 75 patients had pathological parcial response and 1 patient had no response. 2% of patients had only biopsy and didn t accept treatment. Unfortunately we can t give information about overall survival as the majority of the patients didn t respect follow-ups. Conclusions: Our patients need to be more informed about breast cancer, in order to have the possibility to be diagnosed at early stages. Also we must use more neoadjuvant chemotherapy to give these patients the chance to underwent conservative surgery and a better cosmetic view. These category of patients need a total reimbursement for the diagnosis and treatment of their disease.