Ahmad Jawad Fardin
French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children, Afghanistan
Title: Factors contributing to delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and its outcome in Jamhoriat Hospital Kabul, Afghanistan
Biography
Biography: Ahmad Jawad Fardin
Abstract
Over 60% of patients with breast cancer in Afghanistan present late with advance stage III and IV, a major cause for the poor survival rate. The objectives of this study were to identify the contributing factors for the diagnosis and treatment delay and its outcome. This cross sectional study was conducted on 318 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer in oncology department of Jamhoriat hospital, which is the first and only national cancer center in Afghanistan, data were collected from medical records and interview conducted with women diagnosed breast cancer , linear regression and logistic regression were used for analysis. Patient delay was defined as time from first recognition of symptoms until first medical consultation and doctor form first consultation with a health care provider until histological confirmation of breast cancer .The mean age of patients was 49.2+_ 11.5years. the average time for final diagnosis of breast cancer was 8.5 months, most patients had ductal carcinoma 260.7 (82%). factors associated with delay were low education level 76% poor socioeconomic and cultural conditions 81% lack of cancer center 73% lack of screening 19%. the stage distribution was as follow stage IV 4 22% stage III 44.4% stage II 29.3% stage I 4.3%. Complex associated factors were identified to delayed diagnosis of breast cancer and increased adverse outcome consequently. raising awareness and education in women, establishment of cancer centers and providing accessible diagnosis service and screening, training of general practitioners ; required to promote early detection , diagnosis and treatment.