European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: Breast cancer is second most common cancer all over the world and is one of the leading cancers among women. It has high prevalence rate in developed as well as developing nations. In 2018, there were estimated over 2million breast cancer cases. Its incidence is rising rapidly in developing world due to change in lifestyle, urbanization, increased life expectancy and influence of western lifestyles. The accumulated evidence suggests that breast cancers are preventable and highly suitable for secondary prevention. But in rural areas and small towns, there is still lack of awareness of breast cancer as well as health care services. The aim of present study was to know the epidemiology and clinical presentation of breast cancer among the women from rural area of Karnataka. Materials And Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out among newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer. Present study was conducted at tertiary care hospital which provides the diagnostic as well as the therapeutic cancer services and referral services to many private and public health care institutions from neighboring regions. All newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer i.e. within study period, irrespective of age and stage of breast cancer. The Study was conducted over a period of 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2019. The sample size included total 150 newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer during study period. Results: In the present study the age of the patients ranged from 11-70 years. The meanage was 35.09 years. The youngest patient’s age was 11 and the oldest patient’s agewas 70 years. The mean age of the patients was 26.89 years for benign lesions and50.27 years for malignant lesions(Table1). Two Patients in age group 31-40 and two patients in age group 61-70presented with lesions in bilateral breast. Hence total 150 patients with 154 breastlumps(lesions) are included in present study.The maximum number of patients in our study were in the age group of 21-30years (30.5%) followed by 31-40 years (22.7%). The socio demographic parameters of the study population. There was association between clinical stage of at 1st hospital visit and patient's educational status. Proportion of patients having localized tumour was more in literate patients than illiterate Conclusion: Rural residence, poverty, ignorance, traditional practices, low women literacy and lack of health care services can affect stage at diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The increasing burden of breast cancer in Indian women warrants rigorous epidemiological actions in the form of arranging screening programme in rural area for early detection of breast cancer and prompt treatment to reduce the mortality due to breast cancer.