Breast Cancer: Surgery at the South Egypt Cancer Institute

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant tumor in women worldwide. In Egypt, it is the most common cancer among women, representing 18.9% of total cancer cases (35.1% in women and 2.2% in men) among the Egypt National Cancer Institute's (NCI) series of 10,556 patients during the year 2001, with an age-adjusted rate of 49.6 per 100,000 people. In this study, the data of all breast cancer patients presented to the surgical department of the South Egypt cancer Institute (SECI) hospital during the period from Janurary 2001 to December 2008 were reviewed .We report the progress of the availability of breast cancer management and evaluation of the quality of care delivered to breast cancer patients. The total number of patients with a breast lump presented to the SECI during the study period was 1,463 patients (32 males and 1431 females); 616 patients from the total number were admitted at the surgical department .There was a decline in advanced cases. Since 2001, facilities for all lines of comprehensive management have been made accessible for all patients. We found that better management could lead to earlier presentation, and better overall outcome in breast cancer patients.The incidence is steadily increasing with a tendency for breast cancer to occur in younger age groups and with advanced stages.