Socio-demographic Determinants for Distant Metastases of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: In Bangladesh, breast cancer continues to be the second-most common disease overall (12.5%) and the most prevalent cancer in women (27.4%). Patients with late-stage illness who present in low-income regions with distant metastases have a very poor prognosis. Objective: To determine the socio-demographic variables for breast cancer distant metastases in Bangladeshi women treated at a tertiary level hospital. Materials and Methods: This case control study was done from July 2017 to June, 2018 in National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), Mohakhali, Dhaka. Results: A total number of 42 patients were taken as cases and another 84 patients without distant metastases were taken as controls. Mean age in case group was 42.67 ±9.27 years and in control group it was 45.13±9.60 years. The majority of the study participants in both the case (33.3%) and control (38.1%) groups had only completed kindergarten. In both the case group (71.5%) and the control group (85.7%), the majority of the women were found to be married. In both categories, the majority of the participants were sedentary workers. Additionally, Table 4 demonstrates that there is no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to co-morbidities, a positive family history, cigarette use, type of employment, and the existence of obesity (P > 0.05), stage of primary tumor (p=0.002, OR= 5.81; 95% CI: 1.85 – 18.15). Conclusion: Both the diagnosis and the course of treatment are delayed. Due to their lack of resources and lack of knowledge, many of them did not complete the course of treatment. Additionally, each of these factors contributes to the spread of breast cancer to distant areas.