Clinico‑Pathological Evaluation of Breast Cancer in a Nigerian Tertiary Care Center

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is a major public health concern globally. In Nigeria, it is the most common cancer in females and is often diagnosed at an advanced stage as an aggressive disease.

OBJECTIVE: The study hopes to assess the clinical and morphologic features of BC specimens in Delta State University Teaching Hospital DELSUTH, Nigeria.

METHODS: This is a retrospective cross‑sectional study at the Pathology department of a DELSUTH, from January 1, 2014 to March 30, 2020. The age, gender, laterality, histological diagnosis, tumor grade, and year of diagnosis of these BC were analyzed with Microsoft Excel spreadsheet 2007 and presented in tables and figures.

RESULTS: The study comprised 237 BC patients, accounting for 35.5% of total cancer and consisting of 6 (2.5%) males and 231 (97.5%) females with a mean age of 48.21 years. The age group 30–59 years accounted for 80.2% of the cases. The annual incidence rose to a peak in 2019. Bilateral, right breast, and left breast cancer accounted for 6 (3%), 109 (46%), and 122 (51%) cases respectively. Most cases were invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (89.9%). Well‑differentiate (12.2%), moderately differentiated (19.0%) and poorly differentiated (68.8%) cancer accounted for 12.2%, 19% and 68.8% of the cases respectively.

CONCLUSION: BC constitutes a serious growing but poorly addressed health burden affecting mainly Nigerian young and middle‑aged women. Most cases are IDC, and Grade III tumors. There is a need to address the gap in prevention, early diagnosis and quality management of BC in developing countries.

BACKGROUND: 乳腺癌（Breast Cancer, BC）是全球范围内的重大公共卫生问题。在尼日利亚，乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤，且往往在确诊时已处于晚期，表现为侵袭性疾病。
OBJECTIVE: 本研究旨在评估尼日利亚三角洲州大学教学医院（Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH）乳腺癌标本的临床与形态学特征。
METHODS: 本研究为一项回顾性横断面研究，开展于DELSUTH病理科，研究时段为2014年1月1日至2020年3月30日。研究人员采用Microsoft Excel 2007电子表格对纳入病例的年龄、性别、患侧、组织病理学诊断结果、肿瘤分级及确诊年份进行分析，并以表格与图表形式呈现研究结果。
RESULTS: 本研究共纳入237例乳腺癌患者，占同期总癌症病例的35.5%；其中男性6例（2.5%），女性231例（97.5%），平均年龄为48.21岁。30~59岁年龄组占总病例的80.2%。年度发病率在2019年达到峰值。双侧乳腺癌、右侧乳腺癌及左侧乳腺癌病例分别为6例（3%）、109例（46%）及122例（51%）。绝大多数病例为浸润性导管癌（Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, IDC），占比89.9%。高分化（12.2%）、中分化（19.0%）及低分化（68.8%）乳腺癌分别占总病例的12.2%、19.0%及68.8%。
CONCLUSION: 乳腺癌已成为日益严峻却未得到充分重视的公共卫生负担，主要累及尼日利亚中青年女性。绝大多数病例为浸润性导管癌与Ⅲ级肿瘤。发展中国家亟需填补乳腺癌预防、早期诊断及规范化诊疗方面的缺口。