Breast cancer high among below 50 women: study

Muscat: The majority of breast cancer patients in Oman are women below 50 years of age compared to 63 years in Western countries. According to a study, most of them get the disease due to unhealthy lifestyles, if not genetic.

Despite efforts to improve the early detection of breast cancer, nearly one-third of women have either regional or distant metastatic spread at the time of diagnosis.

The joint study carried out by Dr Mohammed al Azri, Dr Jasem al Khamayasi, Yaseen al Lawati, three from the Sultan Qaboos University; Dr Khalid al Baimani, Dr Huda al Awaisi, Dr Zahid al Mandhari, from Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care Centre (SQCCCC); and Sathiya Murthi Panchatcharam, Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB), suggest that approximately 58 per cent of women have advanced stages of breast cancer at diagnosis and that makes the cure extremely difficult. The study shows that 33 per cent of women who suffer from breast cancer report late (usually after the disease enters the third or fourth stage) despite the fact that they were aware that their chances of recovery depend on early diagnosis.

Chances of cure are high if the disease is diagnosed at an early stage and adequately treated, according to the breakthrough study titled ‘An Omani study: Knowledge of symptoms, time to presentation and barriers to medical help-seeking among Omani women diagnosed with breast cancer’.

“In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, approximately half of patients are under 50 years of age at the time of diagnosis, with a median age of 49-52 years compared to 63 years in Western countries,” said doctors who presented the study.

SURVIVAL RATES

Women who begin treatment within 3-5 months of developing symptoms have significantly worse survival rates than those who seek medical help in less than three months.

Worldwide, breast cancer accounts for 10 per cent of all cancers diagnosed annually and around 15 per cent of all cancer deaths. Oman follows a similar pattern, with breast cancer being also the most diagnosed cancer and accounts for 12.8 per cent of all cancers and 21.2 per cent of cancers affecting women.

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of breast cancer symptoms, time taken to seek medical help and barriers to medical help-seeking among Omani women diagnosed with breast cancer.

“There are many factors contributing to young women with breast cancer. Most importantly, it is genetically followed by sticking to a more ‘westernised’ lifestyles, reduced levels of physical activity and higher rates of obesity, a decrease in breastfeeding and the presence of potential carcinogens, such as substances that have the potential to cause cancer, in the local environment,” doctors added.

The study concludes that there should be more efforts to build a trusting and cooperative relationship with female patients to help address emotional barriers to medical help-seeking and encourage them to disclose potential symptoms, thus reducing delays in diagnosis.

The study was aimed to spread awareness about breast cancer symptoms and the duration it takes to get medical consultancy. It also outlines the factors causing Omani women’s delayed reporting of the disease.

The study was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019 at the Royal Hospital’s Centre for Breast Cancer Tumour Treatment, as well as the Cancer Treatment Unit at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital.