Breast Cancer Among Different Ethnicities (A Single Institution Study)

Abstract

Objective: To study the socio-demographic factors, medical history, histological type, hormonal status with the different ethnic groups of Pakistani breast cancer patients.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study.

Place and Duration of Study: Medical Oncology Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi Pakistan, from Aug -Nov 2019.

Methodology: Two hundred female patients aged 20-50 years with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer visited OPD for the treatment or were admitted to the ward. The information regarding socio-demographics was noted in the pre-designed proforma. Divisions such as Muhajir (Urdu speaking), Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and Pathan were created to analyse breast cancer frequency within different ethnic classes in Pakistan. SPSS version 23 was used to analyse the data.

Results: Out of 200 patients with breast carcinoma, 94 females were Urdu speaking (47%), 39 were Sindhi (19%), 25 were Punjabi (12%), 13 were Pathan (7%), seven were Baloch (4%), and 22 (11%) belonged to minority ethnic groups. The results showed a significant association of ethnicity with family history (p=0.053), residence (p=0.001) and employment status (p=0.010).

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that there is difference in breast cancer occurrence among ethnic groups.