Retrospective analysis of breast lumps in a given population: an institutional study

Abstract

Background:A lump in the breast is a common complaint presenting in the surgical outpatient department of all major hospitals, with anxiety regarding a possible malignancy being extremely common. Early presentation and prompt diagnosis is essential to relieve anxiety of non-neoplastic conditions, and in case of carcinoma, it can save the patient from metastases. This retrospective study aims to audit the clinic pathologic features of patients with breast lump at teaching hospital in northern India.Methods: A total of 138 patients were included for the present study. The data on all patients who presented with history of breast lump to the surgical outpatient department at a teaching hospital, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Information on age at presentation, parity, duration of symptom before presentation, previous breast disease, side and quadrant of breast affected, maximum diameter of breast lump, clinical diagnosis made by the senior registrar or unit consultant, type of biopsy done and histology diagnosis for patients who returned with histology report were extracted from the case files. All the results were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Chi-square test was used to measure the level of significance.Results:in our present study, out of all the patients, 7 were males and rests were females. Out of 131 females, 3 (2.1%) were premenstrual and 35 (25.4%) were postmenopausal. 39 (28.3%) female patients were nulliparous. Lump was painless in 75 (54.3%) patients. Duration from discovery of lump to presentation was < 1 months in 24 (17.4%), 1-3 months 10 (7.2%), 3-6 months 18 (13.0%), 6-12 months 20 (14.5%), > 12 months in 56 (40.6%) and ranges from 2 days to 19 years. The duration was not documented in 10 (7.2%) patients. Left breast was more affected i.e. 65 (47.1%) cases than right sided. Bilateral involvement in around 12 cases (8.7%). Breast lump was presenting complaint in 138 patients in 3 years. The mean age of patients presenting with breast lump was 36.8 years (Range 15-70 years).Conclusions:Breast lump was the most common presenting complaint with most patients not presenting within one month.