Characteristics of patients with breast cancer who are taken care of in public hospital in Macapá (AP), Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To review the demographic and clinico-epidemiological characteristics of the patients with breast cancer who were treated at Hospital de Clínicas Dr. Alberto Lima (Hospital of Clinics Dr. Alberto Lima), in the period of 2002 to 2008. Methods: Records of 44 women were analysed, observing the yearly frequency of breast tumor, age, education level, procedence, location of the breast injury, histological type of neoplasy, age at the first childbirth, menarc and menopause, period of breastfeeding, alcohol ingestion and family history of breast cancer with first-degree relatives. Results: We noticed that the breast carcinoma cases increased during the studied period, and the age group between 51 and 60 years old was the most affected, as well as the ones with low level of education, from the capital, precocious menarc and menopause before 55 years old, predominating lower age than 35 at the first childbirth, with significant number of nulliparous women. Most of them (72.7%) did not use to consume alcohol. The most common breast injury location was the upper outer quadrant and the histological type which was more commonly found was the ductal infiltrant carcinoma, and there was a greater number of women without a family history of breast cancer, and who have not breastfed yet. Conclusion: In conclusion, the cases of breast cancer in the series which has been studied have very heterogeneous characteristics.