Publication:

A clinico-pathological study of malignant breast lump in a tertiary care hospital in Kosi region of Bihar, India

Background Breast cancer has captured attention of surgeons throughout the ages with its uncertain cause. Despite centuries of meandering and scientific enquiry, breast cancer is still one of the most dreaded human diseases. The breast is a complex structure and any unnatural change affects the body and psyche of the person. The aim of this study was to observe age distribution, clinical signs and symptoms and pathology of malignant breast lump and draw a correlation between clinical and histological diagnosis of patients presenting with breast lump.

Methods Seventy six (76) cases of diagnosed malignant breast lump out of a total of 200 cases were included in this study. These cases were selected among patients visiting outdoor clinic of department of General Surgery in Katihar Medical College, Katihar. The selected cases belonged to different etiology, age group and sex.

Results Maximum number of malignant tumours was encountered in the 5th decade of age group of patients, followed by in 4th decade. All cases studied were females except 2 cases which were male. The commonest sign and symptoms of presentation was painless lump in the breast followed by painful mass in the breast along with associated features of ulceration of the skin, retraction of nipple and nipple discharge. Histologically, malignant tumours were maximally observed as infiltrating scirrhous carcinoma, followed by medullary carcinoma & papillary carcinoma.

Conclusions Breast cancer is a common cancer worldwide with varied presentation. Multimodality treatment approach is required for malignant breast lump which has shown improvement in both loco regional control and survival.