Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide. According to the GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates of cancer incidence and mortality, female breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer and is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases. In India, breast cancer has moved from being the fourth most common cancer in the 1990s to the first. The prevalence of established hormonal and reproductive risk factors is higher in Western countries, but these risk factors are not commonly observed in the rural population of India. Therefore, it is important to study the probable risk factors in our population, including the potential role of obesity, especially in postmenopausal women, in the development of breast cancer.
Aim and Objectives: The aim of our study is to determine the demographic profile of breast cancer patients and identify any associated risk factors for breast cancer in this population.
Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at Alluri Sita Rama Raju Academy of Medical Sciences (ASRAM) over a period of one year from March 2021 to February 2022. We included 72 patients with histologically proven breast carcinoma who attended the Oncology OPD and met the inclusion criteria.
Results: In our study, approximately 86% of breast cancer patients had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 23. Obesity is known to be associated with increased estrogen levels, which can be a risk factor for hormonal-dependent breast cancer. Among the study group, 52% were luminal positive, 25% were triple negative, and 22.2% were HER2 neu positive.
Conclusion: Our study found that approximately 86% of breast cancer patients were obese. The association between BMI and breast cancer needs to be further studied in randomized control trials. Furthermore, reproductive and hormonal risk factors were not significantly observed in our population group.
