Female breast symptoms in patients attended in the family medicine practice.

BACKGROUND there are few studies on breast symptoms (BS) in patients attended at primary care units in Mexico. The aim was to determine the frequency and types of BS overall and by age-group and establish which BS were related to diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS data from all female patients with a breast-disease-related diagnosis, attended from 2006 to 2010, at the Family Medicine Unit 38, were collected. The frequencies of BS were determined by four age-groups (< 19, 20-49, 50-69, > 70 years) and likelihood ratios for breast cancer for each breast-related symptom patient, with a 95 % confidence interval (CI). RESULTS the most frequent BS in the study population were lump/mass (71.7 %) and breast pain (67.7 %) of all breast complaints, and they were more noted in women age group of 20-49 years. Overall, 120 women had breast cancer diagnosed with a median age of 53.51 + 12.7 years. Breast lump/mass had positive likelihood ratios for breast cancer 4.53 (95 % CI = 2.51-8.17) and breast pain had increased negative LR = 1.08 (95 % CI = 1.05-1.11). CONCLUSIONS breast lump/mass was the predominant presenting complaint among females with breast symptoms in our primary care unit, and it was associated with elevated positive likelihood of breast cancer.