Search

Background: Rising incidence of cancer is a challenging form of seeking help to start treatment, especially in a pandemic situation. Treatment in due time may reduce the time interval of treatment-seeking, which influences the survival of breast cancer patients. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the pandemic on treatment delays among breast cancer patients in Bangladesh., Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2020 to June 2021. A total of 200 samples were collected randomly from the out clinic department of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital. A face-to-face interview was taken with a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Patients were selected by histopathologically confirmed breast cancer and excluded by their metastasis history, treatment history, physical condition, and informed consent., Results: Mean illness period was 16 months with patient delay was 4 months, provider delay was 7 months and total (treatment delay) was 11 months. Stage of cancer had 6 times chance to develop patient delay where OR of 6.234 at 95% CI (2.0, 19.23) and p-value 0.001, Stage of cancer had 4 times chance to develop provider delay where OR of 4.513 at 95% CI (1.35, 12.15) and p-value 0.012, to whom first seek help had 5 times chance to develop provider delay OR of 5.287 at 95% CI (2.58, 10.84) and p-value <0.0001. Provider delay was 2 times associated with a number of FNAC at 95% CI (1.13, 5.13) and a p-value of 0.023. Stage of cancer had 8 times chance to develop total delay where OR of 7.960, at 95% CI (3.20, 19.75) and p-value <0.0001, to whom first seek help had 4 times chance to develop total delay OR 3.860 at 95% CI (1.88, 7.95) and p-value <0.0001., Conclusion: Stage of cancer and first health care provider play a role in treatment-seeking, so, to improve treatment-seeking time, health education is needed to whom they go first, to where they go first.

Development of a neoplasm in an ectopic breast is uncommon, while the development of phyllodes tumor in an ectopic breast in the axilla is even rarer. We report a rare case of a 51-year-old female who presented with a complain of swelling and pain in the right axilla with no associated complaints in other organs. Magnetic resonance imaging suggested a possibility of metastatic lymphadenopathy. Complete excision of the right axillary mass was performed and sent for histopathological examination which was examined thoroughly and sections were given. On microscopic examination, stromal proliferation in a leaf-like pattern with mild stromal atypia and focal permeation of borders were seen, and a diagnosis of Ectopic borderline phyllodes tumor in axilla was made, which is extremely rare and needs to be differentiated from its close differentials like fibroadenoma and periductal stromal sarcoma.

Female breast cancer can be diagnosed easily; but due to inappropriate health care utilization, health-seeking is lag behind. The objectives of the study were to find out the pattern of utilization of health care during breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and their health seeking time. We conducted this cross sectional study for one year; from July 2017 to June 2018 among 200 newly diagnose patients with breast cancer whose were selected randomly from National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from the listed patients who attended at the outpatient department of chemotherapy day care center for treatment. Delay in reporting, wrong reporting, double reporting, delay in hospital admission, long queue for administrative work and delay to reach cancer specialist play a role in utilization of health care. Results showed that health care service delivery and utilization was found to be significant by (p<0.05) associated with the provider delay (p=0.010), total delay (p=0.017), delay to consult with cancer specialist (p<0.0001). By logistic regression it analyzed that utilization of health care there had 2 times more likely to cause provider delay (OR=2.5; 95% CI 1.087-5.762) p=0.03. Utilization of health care influenced stage of cancer with delay help seeking and diagnostic institution also. As low middle income country, like Bangladesh, delays in seeking consultation, late presentation and the availability of breast cancer management for all patients, represent major challenges.

Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast is rare-only about 30 cases have been reported in literature. Immunohistochemical examination showing expression of chromogranin and/or synaptophysin confirms evidence of neuroendocrine differentiation. Usually foci of neuroendocrine differentiation can be seen in breast carcinoma and are reported to be present in about 2-5% of breast cancer cases. Here, we report a case of breast carcinoma in which most of the areas studied on the tissue section showed neuroendocrine differentiation.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of mammographic guided stereotactic fine needle aspiration cytology in 136 patients with breast lesions including mammographic features, cytomorphological findings and nuclear grading in malignant cases. Majority of the cases were predictable correctly by combination of the three modalities of diagnosis viz, clinical examination, mammography and cytology.