Stage of carcinoma breast at presentation in a tertiary care hospital of Rawalpindi

Aim: to determine the commonest stage of ca breast at presentation in a tertiary care hospital. material and methods: this prospective study was conducted in the department of surgery,fauji foundation hospital rawalpindi from 1st march 2009 to 28th february 2010. 120 patients were included by non-probability convenience sampling. only female patients with histological proof of carcinoma breast were included in the study. male patients,patients with recurrent disease and those who refused to give consent were excluded from the study. results: mean age was 53.22 years. 92% of the patients were between the ages of 41 to 60 years. duration of symptoms ranged from 2 months to 2 years. 58 patients were in stage 2 of malignancy while 46 were in stage 3. 16 patients had metastatic disease. conclusion: less than 50 % of patients presented to the hospital for definitive treatment with stage 2 disease. majority of patients of carcinoma breast had stage 3 or 4 with high morbidity and mortality rates and poor prognosis. it is recommended that all the females above the age 40 years with lump breast should be seen by a surgeon and investigated to rule out carcinoma breast so that these patients diagnosed at an early stage.