Breast Cancer in Western Iraq: Clinicopathological Single Institution Study

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy of women worldwide; In Iraq, it ranks first among cancers diagnosed in women, but studies on breast cancer among women in Western Iraq are limited. Breast cancer rate in Arabic countries is lower than that in West nations and more common in younger age. The aim of this study is to estimate age of presentation, stage, grade, type and side of tumor and their comparison with other Iraqi regions as well as with some Arabic and West countries. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive study conducted between 1st of February 2011 to 30th of January 2015 in Western Iraq. 292 cases of breast cancer were enrolled in this study, including 206 cases of mastectomy and 86 cases of lumpectomy. Results: Average age at diagnosis: 47.16 (SD: 12.15), median age at diagnosis: 45 with mode of: 40. Cases with age <50 y: 68.15%. Regarding tumor stages, only 2.39% were presented in pT0 & pT1 categories, and only 2.92% of 206 mastectomy cases were presented in stage 0 & stage I, 12.7% of cases were of grade I. Regarding the types: invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified type: 88%, medullary type: 6.8%, mucinous type: 2.1% & invasive lobular type: 3.1%. Left side (179)/Right side (113) = 1.58, and the bilaterality was 2.7%. Conclusion: Breast cancer rate among females in Western Iraq is low, but it is relatively higher in younger age group in comparison to other studies and mostly presented beyond early stage with a higher grade.