الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, accounting for 23% of total cancer cases and 14% of all cancer related mortalities. This study is a retrospective analysis conducted over 300 female patients diagnosed with invasive non metastatic breast cancer presented to Clinical oncology department at Ain-Shams University hospitals. All patient’s records in the period from January 2007 to December 2011 were reviewed allowing five years overall survival and disease free survival follow up, all these data were collected through chart analysis. Patient characteristics, clinical picture and pathological data were thoroughly collected. In the current study, many of the parameters addressed were almost similar to worldwide incidences with little variations. Mean age at diagnosis was 50 years. Stage II was the most prevalent stage, IDC was the most common pathological subtype, and the hormone receptor positive was the most common molecular subtype. Positive family history represented 15% of the total population at least one first or second degree relative. Most of the patients were urban habitat accounting for 77% while rural population was only 23%. The median time to begin chemotherapy is 5 weeks (SD= 2.8), ranging from 1-12 weeks. The patients were classified into 4 strata, a total of 36% of patients started chemotherapy in less than 4 weeks, 44.7% waited 4 - 8 weeks, and 14% initiated their chemotherapy within 8 - 12 weeks while only 5% were delayed more than 12 weeks to start their adjuvant chemotherapy. Sociodemographic problems and long residential distance to institution represented the most common cause of chemotherapy delay, while the second cause was system related as late referral and prolonged time needed to get governmental insurance support. |