A differential study of breast cancer patients in Punjab, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE To determine the comparative pattern of distribution of four stages of breast cancer in 2 different hospitals in Lahore. METHODS For all the variables under study test-statistic t has been used for stagewise comparisons between the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL) and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) whereas the four stages of the disease were compared by using test-statistic F. RESULTS The study is based on 1171 patients (672 from INMOL and 499 from SKMCH). This paper is an attempt to find out the pattern for the spread of breast cancer among its four stages and its comparative study between the two hospitals, at stage level. It unveils the important fact of late presentation of breast cancer (25% of INMOL and 36% at SKMCH) compared in 10% or less in international literature (18). No impact of the variables under study was observed (P>0.05) on the stage of the disease. CONCLUSION Most of the cases (71% in INMOL and 63% (SKMCH) present at stage III and IV of breast cancer therefore it is necessary that attention should be made to increase the awareness about the need and benefits of early detection of breast cancer.