Assessment of breast cancer risk factors in asymptomatic hospital staff women aged 32-59: A descriptive report

Objective: Iranian breast cancer patients are relatively younger than their Western counterparts. The objective of the present study was to investigate risk factors for breast cancer in Iranian women and compare it with other data driven from other studies. Methods: A study was conducted in April 2008 in Tehran, Iran. Demographical data and risk factor related information, including data from their mammograms were collected using a questionnaire. Results: In all, 109 participants were interviewed. The mean age of participants was 40.48 ± 0.56 years. 1.8 of women were unmarried, while 78 were married and 20.2 were divorced/widowed. The mean age for menarche was 13.34 ±1.47 years and 46.89±4.98 for the menopause, respectively. The mean parity time was 2.36±1.13 and breastfeeding in women was 23.27±14.16 months. About 5.5 of the participants used oral contraceptive as a method for contraception. 8.3 of women experienced menopause, at the mean age of 46.89±4.98. 33.3 of menopaused women, used Hormone Replace Therapy (HRT).Moreover, 8.3 of women had a positive history of breast cancer in their family. Of those women on whom mammography was done, 10.1 had breast mass in radiological findings, mostly in favour of fibrocystic change. In 20.2 of participants, further investigation was advised. Conclusion: The findings of the present study were in accordance with other studies done in Iran and in some aspects in tune with other studies about breast cancer in other countries. However, more multicentric larger scale studies should be conducted in Iran to determine a pattern for breast cancer in Iranian women