Clinicopathological Spectrum of Breast Cancer Patients Presenting at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sindh, Pakistan

TL;DR

This study examines the clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients in Pakistan to aid in early diagnosis and management.

Contribution

The study provides region-specific insights into breast cancer characteristics in Sindh, Pakistan.

Findings

Most patients had intraductal carcinoma and grade III tumors.

Triple-negative breast cancer was observed in 19% of patients.

Nipple retraction and palpable axillary lymph nodes were common clinical signs.

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the various clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients presenting at the Department of Surgery at Liaquat University Hospital, Jamshoro.

Study design and setting

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the Department of Surgery, Liaquat University Hospital, Jamshoro, Pakistan, from 1 November 2024 to 30 April 2025.

Methodology

With a population size of around 150 patients, a margin of error of 10%, and a CI of 99%, 79 patients were asked to fill out a structured questionnaire using a consecutive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The frequency of various clinicopathological characteristics was measured using descriptive analytics.

Results

A total of 79 patients were included, with a mean age of 41.94±10.85. Most women were married for more than 20 years and have breastfed their children for more than 2 years. Also, most of the patients had early menarche. The average size of the tumor was 2.08 cm, with the most common occurrence being in the upper outer quadrant (64.46%). Out of 79 patients, 36 (45.6%) had nipple retraction and 71 (89.9%) had palpable axillary lymph nodes. Metastatic disease was seen in 7 out of 79 (8.9%) patients.

Among pathological parameters, 72 (91.1%) patients had intraductal carcinoma, and 50 out of 79 (63.3%) patients had a pathological grade III tumor. The majority of patients, 28 (35.4%), had estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu)-negative disease, whereas the second common presentation is of triple negative (ER, PR, HER2/neu) tumors, observed in 15 (19%) patients.

Conclusion

This study highlights the clinical and pathological parameters of breast cancer disease in patient presenting in this region of Pakistan. This will help us in developing the guidelines regarding risk factors, clinical signs, and hormonal clues present in breast cancer patients in the area of Pakistan for early diagnosis and management of breast cancer disease.