Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Completed
Administrative data
NCT number |
NCT05458570 |
Other study ID # |
BahriaUni |
Secondary ID |
|
Status |
Completed |
Phase |
|
First received |
|
Last updated |
|
Start date |
January 1, 2010 |
Est. completion date |
December 31, 2020 |
Study information
Verified date |
July 2022 |
Source |
Bahria University |
Contact |
n/a |
Is FDA regulated |
No |
Health authority |
|
Study type |
Observational [Patient Registry]
|
Clinical Trial Summary
Breast cancer, a leading cause of mortality among females, has been the center of research
for many decades. Work is in progress to further advance the research worldwide and in our
region. This study is conducted to look into regional ethical predilection, clinical
presentation/stage, pathological subtypes & risk factors of BC among patients of Karachi,
with the aim of proposing a ground to policy making regarding protocol setting for screening
and management of BC for our region.
Description:
Background Breast cancer, a leading cause of mortality among females, has been the center of
research for many decades. Work is in progress to further advance the research worldwide and
in our region. This study is conducted to look into regional ethical predilection, clinical
presentation/stage, pathological subtypes & risk factors of BC among patients of Karachi,
with the aim of proposing a ground to policy making regarding protocol setting for screening
and management of BC for our region.
Methods A prospective cohort single-centered study conducted, which included 500 female
patients who attended one surgical unit of a tertiary care public hospital Karachi, during
the period of 2010 - 2020. The study was performed in line with the principles of the
Declaration of Helsinki and data collection started after taking hospital ethical review
board's approval because personal data of patients was used. Afterwards, informed written
consent was taken from every included patient. Prior to collecting data, all researchers were
thoroughly trained with regards to data collection and examination of patients to eliminate
observer bias. Non probability consecutive sampling technique was used. The allotted patients
were followed by same researcher from presentation till the end of follow up to avoid
observer bias; through direct patient interaction in OPDs and wards, radiological and
histo-pathological results from investigations performed and regular follow up of patients
during the complete disease period. The retrieved information was filled on pre designed
pro-forma. Patients were preemptively explained about our reason for collecting data and its
implications. The study is reported according to STROCSS 2021 guidelines.15 Our inclusion
criteria was ; female sex, age ≥ 20 years, patients with availability of complete clinical
details, biopsy proven breast cancer, no previous history of breast cancer treatment from
other centers, all regional ethnicities(residents of Karachi, Sindh only) and all stages of
breast cancer. Exclusion criteria of the study was; previously treated breast cancer
patients, recurrent BC, female ≤19 years, male/transgender, females coming for treatment from
other provinces/foreigners.
Thorough history of all patients obtained including relevant risk factors; i-e age, family
history of BC, marital status, age at first born baby, parity, age of menarche/menopause,
socio-economic status and ethnicity. Detailed physical examination including clinical
presentation of breast lump, its size, side (right/left breast) and site, nipple discharge,
nipple retraction, skin involvement, fixity to underlying structures, and lymph node status,
was carried out in each patient by a single examiner. Patients presenting with a discrete
lump, nipple discharge, nipple changes, skin changes, palpable axillary lymph nodes were
subjected to further investigation. Ultrasonography and mammogram of the breast, where
possible, were performed as initial imaging modality. FNAC/Biopsy, was carried out in all
patients to confirm the diagnosis of BC, its subtype and receptors status. For staging; x-ray
chest, ultrasound abdomen for liver and pelvis/ CT chest & abdomen were done on case based
need. Bone scan was performed in only symptomatic cases. After thorough overall assessment,
clinical stage of BC was assigned to each patient, and stage based treatment was carried out
in every patient. Patients having localized disease (≤stage 2A) underwent surgical
intervention first followed by chemo/radiotherapy, regional disease(≥ stage 2B) had
neo-adjuvant followed by surgery, and advanced disease(stage 4) were given palliation.16 Post
operatively detailed histological report of specimen and microscopic involvement of the lymph
nodes status were also noted.
Primary outcomes of the cohort were age, ethnicity, family history, stage/histological type
and menopausal status while secondary outcomes were parity, marriage, symptoms, lump
size/site and socioeconomic status. After collecting the required data on pro forma, it was
analyzed using descriptive statistics by SPSS version 23.0 software. With sample size of 500,
co-operation rate was 100% and our confidence interval was 97.5% with 5% margin of error. For
quantitative data, mean and standard deviation were calculated. Qualitative results were
calculated in percentages and presented in tabular forms.