Risk of Breast Cancer among Young Women and Importance of Early Screening

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women throughout the world. However, in comparison with Western women, it presents relatively early in women of Asian ethnicity. Early menarche, late menopause, use of OCP’s, family history of benign or malignant breast disease, exposure to radiation and BMI in the under-weight range are well known risk factors for the development of breast cancer in premenopausal women. Early detection with the use of breast self-examination (BSE) and breast cancer screening programs can lead to a reduction in the mortality rates due to breast cancer. The aim of our study was to assess the risk factors for breast cancer among young women and to emphasize the importance of early screening among them. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among women aged 18 to 25 using a selfadministered questionnaire. Data was collected over a period of 6 months from June to December, 2014. A total of 300 young women selected randomly from Dow Medical College and various departments of Karachi University successfully completed the survey. Results: Respondents were 18-25 years of age (mean age=21.5). Out of the 300 young females, 90 (30%) had at least one risk factor, 90 (30%) had two, 40 (13%) had three, 8 (2.7%) had four, 2 (0.7%) had five while one female was found to have six positive risk factors for breast cancer. Some 66 women (22%) experienced symptoms of breast cancer such as non-cyclical pain and lumps. While 222 women (74%) had never performed breast self-examination, 22 (7.3%) had had a breast examination done by a health professional while 32 (10.7%) had participated in breast screening programs. A total of 223 (74.3%) women considered breast cancer screening important for young women. Conclusions: The percentage of young women with risk factors for breast cancer was found to be alarmingly high. Therefore, screening for breast cancer should start at an early age especially in high risk groups. Awareness about breast self-examination should be emphasized. Moreover, screening programs should be started to ensure early detection and reduction of mortality rates caused by breast cancer also in young Pakistani females.     

Breast Cancer Awareness and Associated Factors among Women in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Objective: Breast cancer is a highly prevalent cancer in females worldwide, with new cases around one million every year. In Pakistan, cancer of breast is the most common carcinoma in diagnosis, with one in nine females. Due to high burden of breast cancer in Pakistan, presented work purposes to investigate knowledge and awareness of breast carcinoma, its symptoms, and risk factors among Pakistani women, which play an important part in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods: A sample of 1000 females were approached generally from universities, hospitals, public places, local markets, rural areas and other cities for on-site data collection through face-to-face interviews and online data collection through telephonic interviews in Pakistan using the Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (BCAM). By using SPSS V. 25.0, the information  provided by the individuals first changed in awareness scores and was then analyzed. Results: The study displayed, that mainstream participants lacked knowledge of breast carcinoma (63.2%) and the importance of its screening tools (64.7% and 83.2% lacked knowledge of mammography and BRCA tests respectively) for early detection. Almost 45% of respondents never noticed a change in their breasts. Most participants were unaware about breast cancer development is age-related and lifetime risk. Slightly more than 50% of the participants of the study were not knowledgeable regarding modifiable risk factors of breast carcinoma. A commonly known symptom was Breast lump by 53% of the respondents. Association was determined between demographic variables and breast cancer knowledge scores. Only 37.4% of respondents were found to be knowledgeable regarding breast cancer. Conclusion: BCAM is a productive instrument to assess awareness of breast carcinoma in females. The study indicated awareness of breast cancer is suboptimal in the population of Pakistan. Efforts should be made by public awareness campaigns and broadcasting of information about breast cancer and health education to increase awareness of risk factors.     

Cervical Cancer Prevention and Early Detection; The Role of Nurse and Midwives

Worldwide 31% of cancers in women are in the breast or uterine cervix. Cancer of the uterine cervix is one of the ‍leading causes of cancer death among women. The estimated new cancer cervix cases per year is 500.000 of which ‍79% occur in the developing countries, where it is consistently the leading cancer and there are in excess of 233.000 ‍deaths from the disease. The major risk factors for cervical cancer include early age at first intercourse, multiple ‍sexual partners, low socioeconomic status, HSV, HPV infection, cigarette smoking and extended use of oral ‍contraceptives. Well organized and applied public education and mass screening programmes can substantially ‍reduce the mortality from cervical cancer and the incidence of invasive disease in the population. Women who are ‍health conscious are more likely to have used screening services (mammogram, pap-smear test) and performed ‍breast-self examination and genital hygiene. There are both opportunities and burdens for nurses and midwives ‍working in primary health care settings. This is a prime example of a role of public education in cancer prevention ‍with reference to population-based cancer screening programs. ‍     

Evaluation of an Interventional Health Education Project: Screening of Breast Cancer and Health Education (SHE)

There is an increasing incidence of breast cancer in India, especially among younger women. The study’s main objective was to create awareness related to breast cancer and breast self-examination by community health workers and assess the effectiveness of improving knowledge and practice. Secondary objective was to conduct clinical breast examination (CBE) of women and prompt referral. Methods: An outcome evaluation of the Educational Interventional project was conducted in a hilly district of Uttarakhand. Twenty Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) were identified and trained in breast cancer awareness, the procedure of breast self-examination, and screening methods. These ASHA’s further created awareness among study participants (women above 30 years). A structured questionnaire on knowledge and practice was administered before and after educational intervention by ASHA workers. Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) camps were held for women at high risk for breast cancer who were referred to the Division of Breast Surgery, AIIMS Rishikesh, for further management. Result: One thousand sixty-one females participated in health education sessions by ASHAs. There was an improvement in knowledge and practice regarding Breast Self-examination after health education intervention. A low prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer was found among attendees of the CBE camp. 3.2% of participants had abnormalities on breast examination needing further workup. Conclusion: In the pre-test assessment, we found a low awareness and practice regarding breast cancer which increased significantly among women after behavioral change intervention. The prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer was very low. Trained community health workers were found to be effective in raising awareness, selective screening, and prompt referral.     

Lifestyle Factors and Breast Cancer: a Case-control Study in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer and the commonest cause of death due to cancer for women in ‍Malaysia. This study was performed to identify the relationship with lifestyle factors. A case-control study was ‍conducted among females with breast cancer who came for treatment to the Breast Clinic Hospital Kuala Lumpur ‍in July until September 2004. A total of 203 female patients were recruited as cases along with 203 patients who ‍attended the Outpatient Clinic, Hospital Kuala Lumpur during the study period as the controls. The study showed ‍women who did not exercise regularly to have four times higher risk (adjusted odds ratio is 3.49, 95% CI is 1.84 to ‍6.62) compared to those who exercised regularly. Women with a high fat diet were also at elevated risk (adjusted ‍odds ratio 3.84, 95% CI is 1.20 to 12.34) compared to those consuming a low fat diet. Woman without breast cancer ‍generally had a longer duration of lifetime lactation with a median of thirty-three months compared to woman with ‍breast cancer (twenty months, p<0.05). Women who did not take oral contraceptive pills but had breast-fed their ‍child have a 56.0% lower risk (crude odds ratio 0.44, CI is 0.22 to 0.87) compared to women who did not take oral ‍contraceptive pill and also did not breast-fed their child. If they had breast fed for thirteen months and above, they ‍faced a 61.0% lower risk (crude odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI is 0.17 to 0.87). There was a significant inverse trend for ‍lifetime lactation and breast cancer risk. In conclusion certain life styles of women are associated with a higher risk ‍of breast cancer development. Therefore, the promotion of a healthy life style should be emphasized.     

Breast Cancer in Iran: Results of a Multi-center study

Introduction: Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in Iranian women. This study aims to demonstrate the ‍characteristics of breast diseases- and especially breast cancer- according to pathologic records in Tehran, Iran. ‍Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all records of pathologic specimens (biopsy or mastectomy) categorized as ‍“breast diseases” from 1996 to 2000 in five teaching hospitals in Tehran were studied. For each patient, sex, age, ‍breast pathology, pathological staging of malignant lesions, side and location of the tumor and the type of surgery ‍were reviewed by a trained general practitioner. SPSS version 10 was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean ‍age of women with breast cancer was 48.8. The highest frequency of malignancies was observed in the 40-49 age ‍group (31.8%). Twenty-three percent of breast cancers were observed in women younger than 40 years. About 83 ‍percent of malignant lesions in women were in T2, T3 or T4 at diagnosis. Only about 4 percent of women with breast ‍cancers had tumors in stage I or in-situ carcinomas. Nearly 70 percent of the cancers were detected only after lymph ‍node involvement. Only 4.3 percent of our female cases had the chance of conservative mastectomy. Twenty-eight ‍percent of specimens from biopsies in women were malignant. Discussion and Conclusion: In Iran, breast cancer ‍affects women at least one decade younger than their counterparts in developed countries. A considerable proportion ‍of our cases (96%) were in stage II or III at diagnosis. These results show advanced cases at presentation in Iran ‍which further mandate a national cancer detection program involving more effective public education and ‍encouragement of women for breast self-examination and participation in screening campaigns. ‍     

Impact of a Health Education Intervention Program Regarding Breast Self Examination by Women in a Semi-Urban Area of Madhya Pradesh,India

Background: Breast cancer is the most common carcinoma in the world and the second most prevalent inIndian females. Over 0.7 million new cases of carcinoma breast are detected every year globally, with nearly 0.3million deaths, affecting 28 per 100,000 females in the age group of 35 to 60 years. Breast self examination(BSE) can detect 40% of breast lesions. The present study aimed to assess the impact of a health educationintervention program about breast self examination (BSE) among women in a semi-urban area in MadhyaPradesh, India. Methodology: The study was carried out in three phases; pre-intervention phase, interventionphase, and post-intervention phase. A total of 1000 women were included. Interventional health education inthe form of a lecture, pamphlets, flip charts and demonstration of the five step method of breast self examinationusing audio-visual aids was administrated. Results: There was a significant improvement in knowledge regardingall aspects of breast self examination of the intervention group from pre- to post-test. After the interventionprogram, 590 (59%) women had good knowledge and among them 90.7% practiced (BSE) compared to 0%pre-test. An overall increase in the awareness of 43% and 53% of BSE practice was observed in the study groupafter intervention. Seven cases of breast disease were detected in which two were breast carcinoma and fivewere fibroadenomas. Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of women toward breast self examination forearly detection were observed to be inadequate in respondents but there was a significant improvement afterthe intervention. Health education programs through various channels to increase the awareness and knowledgeabout BSE are the need of the hour. Mass media cancer education should promote widespread access toinformation about early detection behavior.     

Reproductive Characteristics and the Risk of Breast Cancer - A Case-control Study in Iran

Breast cancer is a common malignancy for women in most parts of the world and the incidence in Iranian women ‍is growing. The patients are relatively younger than their western counterparts. The present hospital based casecontrol ‍study was designed to determine roles of reproductive factors for breast cancer among women in Iran. ‍Conducted at a teaching hospital in Tehran, Iranin 2004, the study covered a total of 303 cases of breast cancer and ‍303 healthy controls. Cases were identified through the Oncology Department of a university hospital and controls ‍were collected from other wards or out-patient clinics at the same hospital. Control subjects were matched to ‍patients for age. Informed consent was obtained from all cases and controls then demographic and reproductive ‍factors were ascertained by in-person interview using a constructed questionnaire. Odds ratios and their 95% ‍confidence intervals for breast cancer were derived using logistic regression analysis. The mean +SD ages of cases ‍and controls were 48.8 + 9.8 and 50.2 + 11.1 years, respectively, (range 24-84). The final model for multiple analysis ‍indicated that never married, post menopause, age at first live birth, number of live births, use of oral contraceptive ‍pills, and history of chest X-rays between adolescence and 30 yrs of age, were significantly associated with breast ‍cancer. Variables such as higher education, early age at menarche, abortion, breast feeding and its duration were ‍not significant risk factors .     

Knowledge of Risk Factors & Early Detection Methods and Practices towards Breast Cancer among Nurses in Indira Gandhi Medical College,Shimla, Himachal Pradesh,India

Background: Breast cancer is an increasing health problem in India. Screening for early detection should leadto a reduction in mortality from the disease. It is known that motivation by nurses influences uptake of screeningmethods by women. This study aimed to investigate knowledge of breast cancer risk factors & early detectionmethods and the practice of screening among nurses in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire to assessthe knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, early detection methods and practice of screening methods among457 nurses working in a Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla-H.P. Chi square test, Data was analysed usingSPSS version 16. Test of significance used was chi square test. Results: The response rate of the study was 94.9%.The average knowledge of risk factors about breast cancer of the entire population is 49%. 10.5% of nurses hadpoor knowledge, 25.2% of the nurses had good knowledge, 45% had very good knowledge and 16.3% of thenurses had excellent knowledge about risk factors of breast cancer and early detection methods. The knowledgelevel was significantly higher among BSC nurses than nurses with Diploma. 54% of participants in this studyreportedly practice BSE at least once every year. Less than one-third reported that they had CBE within thepast one year. 7% ever had mammogram before this study. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest thefrequent continuing medical education programmes on breast cancer at institutional level is desirable.     

Breast cancer statistics, 2011

In this article, the American Cancer Society provides an overview of female breast cancer statistics in the United States, including trends in incidence, mortality, survival, and screening. Approximately 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,520 breast cancer deaths are expected to occur among US women in 2011. Breast cancer incidence rates were stable among all racial/ethnic groups from 2004 to 2008. Breast cancer death rates have been declining since the early 1990s for all women except American Indians/Alaska Natives, among whom rates have remained stable. Disparities in breast cancer death rates are evident by state, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. While significant declines in mortality rates were observed for 36 states and the District of Columbia over the past 10 years, rates for 14 states remained level. Analyses by county-level poverty rates showed that the decrease in mortality rates began later and was slower among women residing in poor areas. As a result, the highest breast cancer death rates shifted from the affluent areas to the poor areas in the early 1990s. Screening rates continue to be lower in poor women compared with non-poor women, despite much progress in increasing mammography utilization. In 2008, 51.4% of poor women had undergone a screening mammogram in the past 2 years compared with 72.8% of non-poor women. Encouraging patients aged 40 years and older to have annual mammography and a clinical breast examination is the single most important step that clinicians can take to reduce suffering and death from breast cancer. Clinicians should also ensure that patients at high risk of breast cancer are identified and offered appropriate screening and follow-up. Continued progress in the control of breast cancer will require sustained and increased efforts to provide high-quality screening, diagnosis, and treatment to all segments of the population.     

Cultural,Religious and Socio-Ethical Misconceptions among Muslim Women towards Breast Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide. With an estimated 685,000 deaths, female breast cancer was the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, accounting for 6.9% of all cancer deaths. Previous studies have shown that late detection and delayed diagnosis are associated with advanced-stage breast cancer and poor survival. Factors contributing to non-adherence to breast cancer screening among women were elicited from previous studies. However, few studies have focused on the Muslim community, particularly Muslim women. As such, this systematic review aims to fill this gap by collecting information from studies conducted globally over the past ten years that examined cultural, religious and socio-ethical misconceptions about breast cancer screening among Muslim women. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, literature searches were conducted systematically through various databases including PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Oxford Academic Journals. Article identification, screening steps and eligibility measures were meticulously performed throughout the review. Results: A total of 22 papers were appraised and included in this review. Five main themes were generated which were socio-ethical misconceptions, cultural and religious beliefs, cultural and religious barriers, stigmatization and fear of breast cancer impact. Eight sub-themes and 14 sub sub-themes were further elicited from the main themes. Conclusion: Muslim women have socio-ethical, cultural and religious misconceptions on what constitutes health and practices as well as on the nature and etiology of BC. Cultural barriers and religious values of Muslim women were indicated to influence their health behaviors such as upholding their modesty when choosing health interventions. BC stigma and fear were also found to be key sources of psychological distress that discouraged Muslim women from undergoing BC screening. The study suggests the implementation of holistic effort in educating Muslim women to increase BC screening rate.     

Prevention of Endometrial Cancer in Breast Cancer Patients Taking Tamoxifen : The Gynecologists' Role

Breast cancer is among the commonest malignant diseases in women. Over the past two decades tamoxifen has ‍been generally accepted as an endocrine therapy of choice for prevention of breast cancer recurrence. Although ‍tamoxifen was thought to have only a few adverse effects, several reports indicate that it is associated with an increase ‍incidence of proliferative and neoplastic changes in the endometrium, with a 1.3 to 7.5 relative risk of developing ‍endometrial carcinoma. The increased risk of endometrial cancer following the use of tamoxifen has stimulated ‍studies on endometrial diagnostic screening methods. During the past ten years several reports have shown the ‍benefits of transvaginal ultrasonography in detecting endometrial pathologies in patients receiving tamoxifen. ‍Sonohysterography has been claimed to be a useful diagnostic tool on differentiating space-occupying lesion, eg. ‍endometrial polyp, from abnormal endometrial-myometrial junction while the contribution of pulsed flow velocity ‍in diagnosis of endometrial pathologies seems to be inconclusive. More recently a few factors have been identified as ‍risk of developing endometrial cancer after tamoxifen use. These include pre-existing endometrial pathologies, obesity, ‍and prior ERT use. This information provides us a more sensible way in following breast cancer patients receiving ‍tamoxifen. It is proposed here that postmenopausal breast cancer patients intend to have tamoxifen treatment should ‍receive a “two - step evaluation”. The pretreatment evaluation is aimed to classify patients at risk of later development ‍of endometrial pathologies after being exposed to tamoxifen while the ongoing evaluation is designed to closely ‍follow the patents after the initiation of tamoxifen in hope that this will provide a tool for early diagnosis or hopefully ‍a protective measure against endometrial carcinoma associated with tamoxifen therapy.     

A Two-Center Study of Muslim Women's Views of Breast Cancer and Breast Health Practices in Pakistan and the UK

Breast health awareness practices of Pakistani Muslim women in the UK and Pakistan is unknown. Focus group interviews were used to investigate the impact of culture and psychosocial issues on breast health awareness involving 44 women in Lahore and London. Women based in Lahore were more inquisitive about breast cancer and held more developed views compared with British Pakistani Muslim women. Women concurred that concise and relevant breast health education is needed irrespective of faith to improve cultural sensitivity and awareness in both Pakistani communities (both men and women).     

Epidemiology of Breast Cancer

All over the world, the most common malignancy in women is breast cancer. Breast cancer is also a significant factor of death in women. In 2020, approximately 2.3 million cases of breast cancer were newly diagnosed in women globally, and approximately 685,000 people died. Breast cancer incidence varies by region around the world, but it is all increasing. According to the current morbidity and mortality trend of breast cancer, it is estimated that by 2030, the number of incidence and deaths of breast cancer will reach 2.64 million and 1.7 million, respectively. The age-standardized incidence rate was 66.4/100,000 in developed countries and 27.3/100,000 in developing countries. The incidence of breast cancer in the world is increasing rapidly, and the incidence rate has increased by 57.8% in the past 30 years, and the rate of increase is 0.5% per year. The incidence and mortality of breast cancer among Chinese women rank first in the world, and in recent years, the incidence and mortality of breast cancer among Chinese women have also been on the rise. Breast cancer is a disease caused by a variety of factors, such as genetics, estrogen levels, environment, and behavior and lifestyle. The purpose of this review is to explore the global epidemiology, associated risk factors and molecular types of breast cancer to understand breast cancer prevalence, mortality, and to help with its prevention, early detection, treatment and improvement of prognosis.     

Barriers for Breast Cancer Screening Among Asian Women: A Mini Literature Review

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Asian women. Breast cancer is detected in advancedstages and among younger age group women in Asia. The delay in presentation is attributed mainly to the socialculturalperception of the disease, poverty, and the strong influence of traditional medicine. Many of Asian womenare not aware of the importance of regular screening. Cultural attitudes toward breast cancer screening tests,modesty, lack of encouragement by family members and physicians are the major inhibitors to women’s participationin breast cancer screening. Health education using media and community health programs to create awareness ofthe advantages of earlier presentation and diagnosis of breast cancer in Asian women can motivate participation inbreast cancer screening programs.     

Determining the Awareness of and Compliance with Breast Cancer Screening among Turkish Residential Women

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Despite being associatedwith high morbidity and mortality, breast cancer is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated early. Materialsand Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 321 women, data were collected by Questionnaire, Breast CancerRisk Assessment Form and Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chisquaredtests and logistic regression were used in the statistical analysis. Results: It was found that only 2.2%of women have high and very high risk levels of breast cancer risk. There is a positive correlation between earlydiagnosis techniques and Health Belief Model Sub-Dimension scores which are sensibility, health motivation,BSE (Breast self-examination) self-efficient perception and negative correlation between mammography barrierscore and BSE barrier score (p 0.05). When factors for not having BSE were examined, it was determined thatthe women who do not have information about breast cancer and the women who smoke have a higher risk ofnot having BSE. Conclusions: It is important to determine health beliefs and breast cancer risk levels of womento increase the frequency of early diagnosis. Women’s health beliefs are thought to be a good guide for planninghealth education programs for nurses working in this area.     

Health Damaged Context: Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening from Viewpoint of Iranian Health Volunteers

Background: Breast cancer is common among cancer diseases and the second leading cause of death among womenworldwide. The breast cancer-caused death is directly associated with diagnosis time of the disease. Screening is one ofthe major methods for health promotion in human societies. However, many women still refuse to do the periodicscreening. The present study is aimed to analyze the experiences of health volunteers in order to understand the barriers tobreast cancer screening among women at southeast of Iran. Methods: Data collection was performed through focusgroups. Using the purposive sampling method, 24 participants were selected and then were allocated to 6-membergroups. The data were analysed using Lundman and Graneheim qualitative content analysis. Results: The main theme of“Health Damage Context” was extracted with four main categories, including: family barriers, cultural and social barriers,personal barriers and organizational barriers. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, there are numerousbarriers to regular breast cancer screening, and for the same reasons, the willingness to screening is sometimes notsatisfactory. Therefore, in case of the women’s referral to health centers, nurses and other health-care professionalsshould inform them about the role of different screening methods in early diagnosis and rapid treatment of breast cancer.     

Knowledge and Practices Related to Screening for Breast Cancer among Women in Delhi,India

Background: Breast cancer is a major public health problem globally. The ongoing epidemiological, socio-cultural and demographic transition by accentuating the associated risk factors has disproportionately increased the incidence of breast cancer cases and resulting mortality in developing countries like India. Early diagnosis with rapid initiation of treatment reduces breast cancer mortality. Therefore awareness of breast cancer risk and a willingness to undergo screening are essential. The objective of the present study was to assess the knowledge and practices relating to screening for breast cancer among women in Delhi. Methods: Data were obtained from 222 adult women using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. Results: Rates for knowledge of known risk factors of breast cancer were: family history of breast cancer, 59.5%; smoking, 57.7%; old age, 56.3%; lack of physical exercise, 51.9%; lack of breastfeeding, 48.2%; late menopause, 37.4%; and early menarche, 34.7%. Women who were aged < 30 and those who were unmarried registered significantly higher knowledge scores (p ≤ 0.01). Breast self-examination (BSE) was regularly practiced at-least once a month by 41.4% of the participants. Some 48% knew mammography has a role in the early detection of breast cancer. Since almost three-fourths of the participants believed BSE could help in early diagnosis of breast cancer, which is not supported by evidence, future studies should explore the consequences of promoting BSE at the potential expense of screening mammography. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for awareness generation among adult women regarding risk factors and methods for early detection of breast cancer.     

Proteomics approaches: New Technologies and Clinical Applications in Breast Carcinomas

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women, accounting for approximately 40,000 deaths annually in the USA. In Tunisia, the incidence of breast cancer is approximately 19 new cases per 100,000 women per year. Significant advances have been made in the areas of detection and treatment, but a significant number of breast cancers are detected late. The advent of proteomics provides the hope of discovering novel biological markers that can be used for early detection, prognosis, diagnosis, and therapy. Several proteomics technologies have been used to uncover molecular mechanisms associated with breast. Introduction: Breast cancer is a major health problem and one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide. Its incidence is steadily rising in developing countries. In Tunisia, the incidence of breast cancer is approximately 19 new cases per 100,000 women per year(1). Invasive carcinomas represent 70-80% of all breast cancer and among these, infiltrating ductal carcinomas (IDCA) are the most aggressive forms and have a poor prognosis(2). Histopathologically identical breast cancers show a different biological behavior in terms of aggressiveness, progression, and response to therapy. Thus, there is a great need for new breast cancer biomarkers that might help detect this cancer at an earlier stage, to uncover prognostically distinct subclasses, and to provide best individual treatment(2). Currently, the search for specific cancer-related alterations are largely carcinoma at the global level to discover protein patterns that distinguish disease and disease-free states with high sensitivity and specificity. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry constitute a new proteomicsbased paradigm for detecting disease in pathology specimens and monitoring disease response to therapy. This review describes these proteomics technologies and their application in the analysis of breast carcinoma Keywords: Breast cancer, Proteomics, Markers, 2-DE, MALDI-TOF.