Trends and Patterns of Cancer Incidence in Women - A Single Center Experience

Abstract

Objective: To determining the common malignancies affecting our female population.
Materials & Methods: The Study design was descriptive and cross-sectional. Study was conducted over a period of one year (January 2022 to December 2022) Citilab and Research Center, Lahore. The study was approved by the ethical committee of the organization (Letter No. CRC/MISC/958) and was based upon malignancies diagnosed in female patient population during the year 2022. All specimen(s) from female patients above 16 years of age were included. All the patients being diagnosed with a malignant tumor for the first time were included in this study. Patients who have already been receiving some therapy for previously diagnosed malignancies were excluded. Histological diagnosis by a competent Histopathologist and verified by another consultant Histopathologist was taken as confirmatory diagnosis. The collected data was analyzed with SPSS version 25.
Results: During a period of twelve months, a total of 264 cases of malignant tumors from female patients were studied. Maximum number of cases (75) 28.4% belonged to the age group of 51 to 60 years followed by 41 to 50 years of age that constituted 23.8%. Most frequent tumor found in the study group was Breast carcinoma (112.) It constituted 42.4% of total cases, followed uterine carcinoma (28) that constituted 10.6 %. Cervical (15) and Ovarian (15) cancers contributed equally to cancer burden in this study population each constituting 5.7% of total.
Screening and early diagnosis can help precancerous lesions and reducing the burden of invasive malignancies.
Conclusion: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy diagnosed in our female population
followed by gynecological malignancies. Most of the patients belong to 51-60 years of age. Media campaigns
regarding the risk of malignancy, its early diagnosis and high possibility of treatment, importance of self-
examination and easy availability of screening programs can contribute to decreasing the incidence and
improving life expectancy in our female population.