Background Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among females in Palestine. The aims of this study were to assess the histological types of breast cancer, the stage at diagnosis, and oestrogen receptor status of women with breast cancer in the West Bank. Methods This retrospective study was conducted in the two major outpatient oncology clinics of the West Bank (Al-Watani Governmental Hospital in Nablus and Beit Jala Governmental Hospital). The data collection form was completed by reviewing patients’ medical records. SPSS was used for data analysis. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of An-Najah National University and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Findings The study included 400 women with an average age of 52·16 years (SD 11·56); as the number of patients with breast cancer in the country was not known, a sample size calculator was input with an estimate of breast cancer cases, as given by six oncologists. Ductal carcinoma was the most common histological type (79%; 317 of 400), followed by lobular carcinoma (15%; 60). Patients were most commonly diagnosed at stage three (27%; 106), followed by stage two (25%; 100), stage four (24%; 95), and stage one (20%; 81). Most patients (88%; 353) were not tested for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations. Among the tested patients, 5% (21) had BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. Regarding oestrogen receptor status, 249 out of 386 women (65%) for whom data were available had a positive test, and the progesterone receptor test was positive for 225 out of 385 women (58%) for whom data were available. In terms of HER2 receptor overexpression, 306 out of 381 women (80%) for whom data were available had negative test results.

Title

The Lancet

Publisher

Elsevier

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

60.392

Publication Type

Prtinted only

Volume

393

Year

2019

Pages

S42