Knowledge of Breast Cancer and Breast Self-Examination Practice among Iranian Women in Hamedan,Iran

Background: In Iran, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and a major public health problem. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out to determine knowledge on breast cancer and breast selfexamination (BSE) practices of 384 females living in the city of Hamadan, Iran. A purposive sampling method was adopted and data were collected via face-to-face interviews based on a validated questionnaire developed for this study. Results: Among respondents 268 (69.8%) were married and 144 (37.5%) of the respondents reported having a family history of breast cancer. One hundred respondents (26.0%) claimed they practiced BSE. Level of breast cancer knowledge was significantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.000). There was no associationwith demographic details (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed that Iranian women’s knowledge regarding breast cancer and the practice of BSE is inadequate. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection 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.     

Breast Cancer in Iraq,Incidence Trends from 2000-2009

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy of women worldwide. In Iraq, breast cancer ranksfirst among cancers diagnosed in women but no studies have been conducted on incidence trends. The presentstudy of breast cancer in the country during 2000-2009 was therefore performed. Materials and Methods: Theregistered data for breast cancer cases were collected from the Iraqi Cancer Registry/Ministry of Health. Thesignificance of incidence rate trends during 2000-2009 was tested using Poisson regression. Age-standardizedrates (ASR), and age-specific rates per 100,000 population were calculated. Results: A total of 23,792 incidentbreast cancer cases were registered among females aged ≥15 years, represented 33.8% of all cancers in femalesregistered during 2000-2009. It ranked first in all the years. The median age at diagnosis was 49 and the mean agewas 52 years. The incidence rate of all female breast cancer in Iraq (all ages) increased from 26.6 per 100,000 in2000 to 31.5 per 100,000 in 2009 (APC=1.14%, p<.0001). The incidence in age groups (40-49), (50-59) and (70+)increased in earlier years and has recently (2005-2009) become stable. The incidence in age group (60-69) didnot decline since 2003, while the incidence rates in the age group (15-39) started to decline in 2004. Conclusions:With the Iraqi Cancer Registry data during the period 2000-2009, the incidence of all female breast cancer inIraq (all ages) has risen. We found rapid increase in the age specific incidence rate among age group 60-69.However, breast cancer among Iraqi women still affects younger age groups than their counterparts in developedcountries. Further epidemiological research is needed to examine possible causes and prevention measures.     

Oral Cancer Knowledge and Practice among Dental Patients and their Attitude Towards Tobacco Cessation in Iran

Background: One of the main causes of delay in diagnosis of oral cancer is lack of awareness about aetiologyand symptoms among the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice ofpatients regarding oral cancer and their attitude towards tobacco cessation. Materials and Methods: This studywas carried out in Isfahan-Iran in 2014. A 29-item self-administrated questionnaire was designed and pilotedand distributed to patients attending dental clinics. Questions were focused on awareness about oral cancerrisk factors, signs and symptoms, places in the mouth which are more susceptible and attitude toward tobaccocessation. Chi-square, T-test, ANOVA and logistic regression tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: Atotal of 546 valid completed questionnaires were obtained. The mean knowledge score of patients was 4.1(±2.7)out of 13. Some 80% of patients did not know about early manifestations of oral cancer. Only 18% knew the mostlikely sites of oral cancer. Only 43.1% and 65.2% of patients reported alcohol and tobacco consumption as themain risk factors but they had a fair knowledge about other risk factors. There was no significant difference inKnowledge level between patients regarding their sex, educational levels and age. Most patents (90%) expectedtheir dentists to warn them about the harmful effects of smoking and showed willingness to quit if recommended.Conclusions: Knowledge about oral cancer was found to be quite low. It seems necessary to increase the levelof public awareness using educational programs with cooperation of dentists in tobacco cessation programs.     

Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Screening Behavior among Iranian Women

Background: Early detection of breast cancer is of great importance to improve women’s health and to decreasethe cost related to cancer death. Therefore, recognition of variables related to breast cancer screening behaviorsis necessary. Objectives of this study were to identify the rates of breast self-examination (BSE) performance andmammography use in Iranian women, and to characterize the demographic and cognitive factors associated withtheir breast cancer screening behavior. Method: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 388 females,using an adapted version of Champion’s revised Health Belief Model Scale. Results: The results showed that7.5% of the participants performed BSE on a regular monthly basis, and among the women aged 40 and older,14.3% reported having had at least one mammography in their lifetime. Perceived self-efficacy and perceivedbarriers to BSE were significant predictors for BSE performance. For having mammography, health motivationwas the main predictor. Conclusion: Eliminating barriers and increasing perceived self-efficacy with an emphasisto make the women acquainted with BSE performance; as well as increasing health motivation of women andpersuading of physicians for clinical breast examination (CBE) performance with low cost and free access tom ammography, are important to promote BSE and mammography.     

Knowledge,Attitudes, and Preventive Practice Towards Breast Cancer among General Practitioner Health Professionals in Morocco

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer of women in Morocco and its diagnosis is usually made at advanced stages. The aim of this study was to describe the knowledge, practices and attitudes of general practitioners regarding early detection of breast cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during July 2011 on a sample of 140 general practitioners employed in basic health care facilities. Results: The majority (85.7%) of general practitioners were aware of the existence of a ministerial circular which aimed to generalize breast cancer screening. Systematic practice of clinical breast examination was reported by 18.0% of doctors for every woman between 45 and 70 years and a systematic breast self-examination check-up was reported by 59.4% of physicians. Mammography was requested by 54.1% of physicians in the presence of risk factors. Females and physicians practicing in urban areas were less likely to have a knowledge, attitudes and practices score higher than 8 as compared to male physicians and those practicing in rural areas. Discussion and conclusion: Our study showed that the knowledge, attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding the early detection of breast cancer program were not satisfactory; hence the urgent need for improved implementation of the program in the affected regions.     

General Breast Cancer Awareness among Women in Riyadh City

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally as well as in Saudi Arabia. Early diagnosis can improve prognosis and breast self-examination (BSE) may be a cost effective way to achieve this. In Saudi Arabia, only a few studies have been conducted to address breast cancer awareness. Most showed a suboptimal level of understanding. During the last few years, Saudi Arabia has established many national campaigns to increase awareness of the disease and facilitate learning about different diagnostic procedures. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in accordance to assess the current knowledge and practices of women regarding breast self-examination and mammography screening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The sample comprised of 137 females aged 18 and older. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews with a modified Arabic version of a validated questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS. Similar to previous studies’, the results were suboptimal. Out of the 137, about 54% claimed they are aware of breast cancer and BSE, however, only 62% of them knew how to conduct self-examination. Far fewer were aware of mammography screening (38%). When asked about the source of breast cancer information, most of the women answered awareness campaigns (39%) while school/university and TV (22% each) were the sources for others. This highlights the importance and urgent need for continued awareness campaigns. Moreover, special awareness sessions need to be conducted in institutions like colleges, universities, and hospitals where the proportion of females is higher.     

The Usage and Knowledge of Mammogram among Women inSub-Urban Area in Terengganu,Malaysia

Introduction: Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women today and the major challenge is late presentationthen later contributes to poor outcome and high fatality rate. Mammography is effective in early detection ofbreast cancer and consequently significantly improves the breast cancer survival. Materials and Methods: Thiscross-sectional study was used to study the knowledge and awareness towards mammogram amongst womenaged 15 years old and above. A systemic random sampling was applied and information gathered through guidedinterview by using a structured questionnaire. Results: Eighty-six respondents were recruited. The mean age ofrespondents was 40.5 years (SD: 15.51) and more than 80% had secondary and tertiary level of education. Thepercentage of respondents ever performed mammogram was 10.5% (95% CI: 4.0%-17.0%). The rate of correctanswers was between 8.1% and 48.8%. Most of the respondents do not sure the answer (45.3%-61.6%) ratherthan wrongly answer (4.7%-43.0%). Only about 8% truly answer that mammogram should be done once in alife. There are 10.5% of women claimed that mammogram had no serious side effect and not a painful procedure.Nearly half of respondents (48.8%) correctly mentioned that Mammogram can detect breast cancer in earlystage. Conclusion: Only a small percentage of women ever performed mammogram and there are seriouslyunaware and poor knowledge pertaining to mammography screening for breast cancer among women in suburban area. A massive health education campaign through multiple methods and agencies are needed to enhancethe knowledge and awareness on mammogram.     

Determinants of Breast Cancer Screening Practice among Women in Indonesia: A Nationwide Study

Background: Breast cancer remains the leading cause of death for women globally, including in Indonesia. Breast cancer screening plays a vital role in reducing deaths caused by breast cancer. However, breast cancer screening rate is still low and studies on determinants for breast cancer screening is limited in Indonesia. This study aimed to identify the determinants of breast cancer screening among women in Indonesia. Methods: This population-based study was conducted among 827 women who lived in either rural and urban areas, using a stratified sampling design where were based on province and locality combinations. Data were analysed using a binary logistic regression model to assess the associations between independent and dependent variables. Results: As many as 827 women with an average age of 29.91 (± 11.14) years old participated in this study. The overall breast cancer screening among women was 18.74%. Knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, signs, and symptoms (adj.OR = 1.75, 95%CI: 1.20 – 2.56), age of 35 to 39 years old (adj.OR. = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.02 – 2.26), and household income of ≥6,000,000 IDR (≥457 USD) (adj.OR. = 5.19, 95%CI: 1.43–18.84) were associated with breast cancer screening attendance. In contrast, Christian women had a significantly lower breast cancer screening rate that women from other religions (adj. OR. = 0.45, 95%CI: 0.24 – 0.85). Conclusion: The overall breast cancer screening attendance was poor among Indonesian women population. Age, household income, religion, and knowledge of breast cancer risk factors were identified as the determinant factors for breast cancer screening.     

Knowledge,Barriers and Attitudes Towards Breast Cancer Mammography Screening in Jordan

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in Jordan. Current efforts are focused onannual campaigns aimed at increasing awareness about breast cancer and encouraging women to conductmammogram screening. In the absence of regular systematic screening for breast cancer in Jordan, there is aneed to evaluate current mammography screening uptake and its predictors, assess women’s knowledge andattitudes towards breast cancer and screening mammograms and to identify barriers to this preventive service.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in six governorates in Jordan through faceto-face interviews on a random sample of women aged 40 to 69 years. Results: A total of 507 participants withmean age of 46.8±7.8 years were interviewed. There was low participation rate in early detection of breastcancer practices. Breast self-examination, doctor examination and periodic mammography screening werereported by 34.9%, 16.8% and 8.6% of study participants, respectively. Additionally 3.8% underwent breastcancer screening at least once but not periodically, while 87.6% had never undergone mammography screening.Reported reasons for conducting the screening were: perceived benefit (50%); family history of breast cancer(23.1%); perceived severity (21.2%); and advice from friend or family member (5.8%). City residents haveshown higher probability of undergoing mammogram than those who live in towns or villages. Results revealednegative perceptions and limited knowledge of study participants on breast cancer and breast cancer screening.The most commonly reported barriers for women who never underwent screening were: fear of results (63.8%);no support from surrounding environment (59.7); cost of the test (53.4%); and religious belief, i.e. Qadaa WaQadar (51.1%). Conclusions: In the absence of regular systematic screening for breast cancer in Jordan, theuptake of this preventive service is very low. It is essential for the country of Jordan to work on applying regularsystematic mammography screening for breast cancer. Additionally, there is a need for improvement in thecurrent health promotion programmes targeting breast cancer screening. Other areas that could be targeted infuture initiatives in this field include access to screening in rural areas and removal of current barriers.     

Knowledge,Facilitators and Perceived Barriers for Early Detection of Breast Cancer among Elderly Turkish Women

This article deals with elderly Turkish women’s experiences with breast self examination, clinical breastexamination and mammography screening, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators in the theoreticalframework of the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model. This is a qualitative study performed on46 elderly women aged 60-75 years. Data were collected with focus group interviews and analyzed systematicallywith qualitative analysis techniques to determine themes concerning knowledge and facilitators of and perceivedbarriers to early detection of breast cancer among elderly women. Barriers to screening were insufficientknowledge, fear, neglect/postponement, embarrassment/religious beliefs, inability to make an appointment, lackof a physician’s recommendation and health professionals’ attitudes. Facilitating factors were being informedabout screening, fear, awareness of cancer screening, familial history of breast cancer and social support, makingan appointment, health professionals’ communication and physicians’ recommendations. Public health nursesand health professionals from other health disciplines should be aware of elderly women’s need for knowledgeabout screening, understand elderly women’s fear and worries about their health and know barriers to andfacilitators of screening.     

Evaluation Knowledge,Attitude, and Behaviour for Breast Cancer among Young Women Living in Two Different Habitats of Turkey

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Turkey and worldwide,and is ranked as the second-leading cause of death in women after lung cancer. Early diagnosis of breast cancer ispossible, and breast cancer is included in cancer-screening programs in Turkey. The aim of this study was to evaluatethe knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of young women (older than 20 years of age) on breast self-examination andbreast cancer screening methods, and to determine the effect of sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A totalof 489 patients were included in the study. The mean age of participants was 36.53 ± 11.22 years. 346 (70.8%) of theparticipants were married. The study was a cross-sectional, non-randomized study in public health. The participants inthis study were women over 20 years old, who presented to Arnavutkoy State Hospital General surgery policlinic andSisli Hamidiye Etfal Family Medicine policlinic. Results: The rate and duration of breastfeeding were higher amongparticipants living in rural areas than those living in urban areas (p<0.001) The awareness of breast cancer increased asthe level of education increased (p<0.001). Having a family history of a high incidence of breast cancer significantlyincreased the rate of breast self examination practice by 1.93 fold (p=0.016). Conclusion: Breast Cancer is a diseasethat can be treated 100 % with early diagnosis. Primary care physicians especially works in lower socioeconomicconditions have to tell the importance of early diagnosis of breast cancer, and properly explain breast self examinationand other screening tools.     

Knowledge and Practice Concerning Breast Cancer Risk Factors and Screening among Females in UAE

Breast cancer is considered the most dangerous cancer for women, driving the highest number of mortalities in women worldwide. According to the WHO 2020 report, breast cancer showed the highest five-year prevalence in the UAE, among other cancers. This research assessed breast cancer awareness, potential risk factors, screening approaches and practices, barriers to screening, and attitudes toward seeking medical help among UAE women. A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted through a web-based validated questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 27. The questionnaire was sent through social media platforms. The eligible completed were 616 responses. This study showed a prevalence of breast cancer of 3.1% among the study population. Regarding Breast cancer knowledge, most of the participants, 65.8% had moderate knowledge, 19% had poor knowledge, and only 7.6% had good knowledge. Breast cancer screening methods were the most recognized section at 76%, followed by knowledge of symptoms and while the least known section was the BC risk factors. Twenty-five percent of respondents had at least one breast cancer symptom. About 37.1% of women aged more than 40 years had never undergone mammography. In potential, most participants and 81.7% were having more than five of the BC risk factors had adequate knowledge about breast cancer with relatively higher knowledge scores for screening methods and symptoms. Participants who received information from healthcare providers or attended awareness events had a higher knowledge score. In contrast, insufficient mammography screening had been revealed. At the same time, potential risk evaluation revealed a high percentage of participants suffering from many potential risk factors.     

Knowledge,Attitude and Practice of Breast Self-examination Among Female University Students from 24 Low,Middle Income and Emerging Economy Countries

The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of Breast Self-Examination(BSE) among female university students from 24 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Usinganonymous questionnaires, data were collected from 10,810 female undergraduate university students aged 16-30 (mean age 20.7, SD=2.9) from 25 universities in 24 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall,50.4% of the female students indicated that they knew how to conduct BSE. Among all women, 59.3% had neverpracticed BSE in the past 12 months, 21.3% 1-2 times, 10.3% 3-10 times, and 9.1% monthly. The proportion ofmonthly BSE was above 20% in Nigeria and Laos and below 2% in Bangladesh, India, Singapore, Russia, andSouth Africa. Logistic regression found that BSE importance or positive attitude was highly associated withBSE practice. BSE practices were found to be inadequate and efforts should be made to develop programmesthat can increase knowledge related to breast cancer as well as the practice of breast self-examination.     

Socioeconomic Factors Association with Knowledge and Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Iranian Women.

Background: Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in women and is one of the most frequent cancers among Iranian women. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer diminishes a women's chance of survival. Breast self- examination (BSE) may be effective in early detection. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between Iranian women's socioeconomic status and their knowledge and practice of BSE. Methods: Data were from a hospital-based case-control study among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Control subjects were matched to patients on age. 303 breast cancer patients and 303 control women were interviewed. Socioeconomic status and information including knowledge and practices of breast self examination and clinical breast examination were recorded and compared. Results: The mean +/- SD age of cases and controls was 48.2 +/- 9.8 and 50.2 +/- 11.1 (range 24-84 years), respectively. The study revealed that there were significant relationships between education level and knowledge and practices of breast self examination in both cases and controls, increase in usage being observed with the level of education (P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that the knowledge and practices of women toward breast cancer early detection are inadequate in women with a lower level of education. Mass media cancer education should promote widespread access to information about early detection behavior.     

Knowledge of Female Undergraduate Students on Breast Cancer and Breast Self-examination in Klang Valley,Malaysia

Background: In Malaysia, breast cancer is the first cancer among females regardness of race. Aim: The purposeof this study was to identify the knowledge and BSE practice among undergraduate female students at fourpublic universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conductedamong 820 undergraduate female students using a self-administered questionnaire covering socio-demographicdata, knowledge of breast cancer and BSE practice. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 21.7±1.2years. The majority of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 16.5% of respondents had a family historyof breast cancer. This study showed low level of knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination amongparticipants. Only 19.6% participants were performing BSE regularly. Knowledge of breast self-examination wassignificantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.00). Also, there were significant associations between performingBSE with age, marital status and being trained by a doctor for doing BSE (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our findingsshowed that the rate of BSE practice and knowledge of breast cancer is inadequate among young Malaysianfemales. A public health education program is essential to improve breast cancer prevention among this group.