A retrospective study on socio-demographic, clinicopathological, molecular subtypes and comorbidities of women with breast cancer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20261692Keywords:
Breast cancer, Tumor characteristics, Molecular subtypes, Comorbidities, Body mass index, Retrospective studyAbstract
Background: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease influenced by demographic factors, tumor biology, and comorbid conditions. Understanding these characteristics is essential for improving early detection and management strategies.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study using data from 120 women diagnosed with breast cancer. Demographic data (age, BMI), socioeconomic status, education level, clinical symptoms, radiologic findings, pathology reports, tumor grade, Modified Bloom-Richardson Score, molecular subtypes, comorbidities and presence of metastasis were obtained from patient charts and analysed descriptively.
Results: The majority of breast cancer patients were middle-aged; with the range of 36-55 years old. Many patients had high BMIs. The most common presenting symptom of breast cancer was a palpable breast lump. Histologically, invasive ductal carcinoma was the most common type, and the majority of the tumors were classified as high-grade and had high modified bloom-Richardson scores. The most common molecular subtype of breast cancer in our population was luminal A, followed by triple negative. Hypertension and Type 2 diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities in this population.
Conclusions: Breast cancer patients appeared to be diagnosed at a later stage than previously reported and the tumors were highly aggressive. The implications of our findings support increased public awareness, earlier detection, and targeted screening programs, particularly in rural and underserved populations.
Metrics
References
Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, et al. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(3):209-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
WHO. Breast cancer: fact sheet. Geneva (CH): World Health Organization. 2025. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer. Accessed on 28 February 2026.
Malvia S, Bagadi SA, Dubey US, Saxena S. Epidemiology of breast cancer in Indian women. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2017;13(4):289-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajco.12661
Gupta A, Shridhar K, Dhillon PK. A review of breast cancer awareness among women in India: Cancer literate or awareness deficit?. Eur J Cancer. 2015;51(14):2058-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2015.07.008
Sankaranarayanan R, Ramadas K, Thara S, Muwonge R, Prabhakar J, Augustine P, et al. Clinical breast examination: preliminary results from a cluster randomized controlled trial in India. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011;103(19):1476-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djr304
Li CI, Uribe DJ, Daling JR. Clinical characteristics of different histologic types of breast cancer. Br J Cancer. 2005;93(9):1046-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6602787
Perou CM, Sørlie T, Eisen MB, Van de Rijn M, Jeffrey SS, Rees CA, et al. Molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature. 2000;406(6797):747-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35021093
Maurya AP, Brahmachari S. Current status of breast cancer management in India. Indian J Surg. 2021;83(2):316-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-020-02388-4
Ligibel JA, Alfano CM, Courneya KS, Demark-Wahnefried W, Burger RA, Chlebowski RT, et al. American Society of Clinical Oncology position statement on obesity and cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2014;32(31):3568-74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2014.58.4680
Sarfati D, Koczwara B, Jackson C. The impact of comorbidity on cancer and its treatment. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016;66(4):337-50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21342
Jonnada PK, Sushma C, Karyampudi M, Dharanikota A. Prevalence of Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer in India: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Indian J Surg Oncol. 2021;12(1):152-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13193-020-01253-w
Ebrahimoghli R, Aghaei MH, Azami-Aghdash S, Houssami N. Uptake of breast cancer screening practices in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025;117(1):29-39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djae187
Pandey A, Raj S, Madhawi R, Devi S, Singh RK. Cancer trends in Eastern India: Retrospective hospital-based cancer registry data analysis. South Asian J Cancer. 2019;8(4):215-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/sajc.sajc_321_18
Luís C, Dias J, Firmino-Machado J, Fernandes R, Pereira D, Baylina P, et al. A retrospective study in tumour characteristics and clinical outcomes of overweight and obese women with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023;198(1):89-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-022-06836-5
Hewage SA, Samaraweera S, Joseph N, Kularatna S, Gunawardena N. Presentation, Diagnosis and Treatment Delays in Breast Cancer Care and Their Associations in Sri Lanka, a Low-resourced Country. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2022;34(9):598-607. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2022.05.007
Nene BM, Selmouni F, Lokhande M, Hingmire SJ, Muwonge R, Jayant K, et al. Patterns of Care of Breast Cancer Patients in a Rural Cancer Center in Western India. Indian J Surg Oncol. 2018;9(3):374-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13193-018-0748-4
Shrivastava N. A Retrospective Analysis of Breast Cancer Presentation Among Young and Older Women in an Indian Cohort of 70 Patients. Cureus. 2024;16(5):e61239. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.61239
Sandhu GS, Erqou S, Patterson H, Mathew A. Prevalence of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in India: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Glob Oncol. 2016;2(6):412-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JGO.2016.005397
Kulkarni A, Kelkar DA, Parikh N, Shashidhara LS, Koppiker CB, Kulkarni M. Meta-Analysis of Prevalence of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Its Clinical Features at Incidence in Indian Patients With Breast Cancer. JCO Glob Oncol. 2020;6:1052-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00054
Kumar N, Patni P, Agarwal A, Khan MA, Parashar N. Prevalence of molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer: A retrospective study. Med J Armed Forces India. 2015;71(3):254-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mjafi.2015.04.006
Rathod V, Jha CK, Sinha U, Singh PK, Kumar A, Bhadani PP, et al. First Comprehensive Report of Clinicopathological Profile of Breast Cancer from Bihar, India. Indian J Surg Oncol. 2021;12(3):598-602. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13193-021-01404-7
Suhani S, Kazi M, Parshad R, Seenu V, Verma E, Mathur S, et al. An audit of over 1000 breast cancer patients from a tertiary care center of Northern India. Breast Dis. 2020;39(2):91-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/BD-190435