Clinical presentation of breast cancer in a tertiary health facility in Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria: a three-year experience of practitioners

Introduction: In the year 2022, breast cancer accounted for 11.6% of all cancers, trailing lung cancer (12.4%).  The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical presentation of breast cancer patients in a tertiary health facility over a three-year period.

Methods: A hospital-based longitudinal study was carried out in breast clinic of a tertiary healthcare centre among patients who had breast cancer. Data was collected using a proforma, and data was analysed using United States CDC Epi- Info version 7 for statistical analysis. Categorical variables were presented as counts/percentages, and Spearman’s correlation for correlation.

Results: The mean age of patients was 43.13 ± 11.60 years, and the median parity was 3.00. Thirty-nine (63.9%) had breast lumps, and 10 (16.4%) had breast swelling as a presenting symptom. The mean duration of symptoms was 1 year. Twenty-four patients (39.3%) had no reason for late presentation, 15 (24.6%) due to ignorance, 13 (21.3%) due to inappropriate medical attention, and others were religion, self-medication, fear of mastectomy, financial constraints, lack of time, and use of native treatment. The majority of the patients (n = 34; 55.7%) were seen at stage III disease, and there was no statistically significant relationship between the duration of symptoms and clinical staging of the disease.

Conclusion: We report breast cancer occurrence mostly among relatively young multiparous, women, who had a mean symptom duration of 1 year, with the majority having stage III disease. There is a need for some form of regulation on cancer care to improve outcomes.