BREAST DISEASES; SPECTRUM IN WAH CANTT; POF HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE

Objectives: To find out the magnitude of breast diseases and their distribution in different age groups among the patients attending surgical OPD for surgical consultation at POF Hospital Wah Cantt. Design: This is a retrospective observational type of study. Material and method: Patients attending surgical OPD for breast problem from January 2000 to December 2007 were included. They were assessed clinically and their diagnosis was confirmed by cytological (FNAC) or histopathological (biopsy) examination. Records were taken from pathology and surgery department and the patients were retrospectively reviewed. Results: 954 cases of breast disease were diagnosed. These include 905 female and 49 male patients. Benign breast diseases (BBD) were the most common lesions of the breast found in this study (71.5%) whereas malignant lesions were on the rise with each passing year (28.5%). Among BBD, the most common lesion was fibroadenoma (49%) followed by breast abscess (13%), Fibrocystic disease (9.3%) and gynecomastia(6.8%). 271 cases (28.5%) were malignant lesions. This includes 269 female and 2 male cases. The common ages for BBD were, 12-30 years for fibroadenoma, 15-40 years for breast abscess, 18-40 years for fibrocystic disease and 15-29, 50-59 for gynecomastia respectively, whereas carcinoma breast was seen in the age group of fifties initially, getting more common in forties, in the later part of study. Conclusion: We conclude from this study that BBD* is the most frequent breast ailment. Among the BBD, fibroadenoma was the most common lesion. Breast carcinoma cases were becoming more frequent but reached hospital at a late stage of the disease. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the most common malignancy noted.