Random Cross-Sectional Determination of the Level of Awareness Among Female Saudi Patients About Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness Among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Purpose

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, and second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Early detection of BC significantly improves prognosis; thus, awareness is an important aspect of BC morbidity and survival as well as the economic burden. This systematic review aimed to explore awareness of BC among women in Saudi Arabia.

Patients and Methods

A systematic search was performed using Medline, Scopus, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and Google Scholar for all cross-sectional studies conducted in Saudi Arabia, published after the year 2000 and in English. The quality assessment of the included studies was performed using the AXIS tool.

Results

The total number of included articles after full-text assessment was 13 articles that were conducted between 2005 and 2022. The sample size of all the articles was 7,562 women. All the studies categorized BC awareness into low, moderate, and high groups. The level of low awareness among women reached 66.3% (n=2808), 13.5% (n=570) had moderate awareness levels, and 20.2% (n=858) had high awareness levels. Furthermore, 59.4% (n=1446) of the participants did not perform breast self-examination (BSE) regularly.

Conclusion

The level of awareness and knowledge regarding BC and BSE was significantly low among women in Saudi Arabia, as all included studies except one have indicated. We highly recommend and urge the implementation of effective special programs and campaigns to raise awareness regarding BC and integrating BSE into school health programs dedicated to women living in Saudi Arabia.

Women's Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding the Risk Factors and Warning Signs of Breast Cancer in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in women globally, contributing significantly to cancer-related deaths. In Saudi Arabia, it ranks as the second most common cancer among women. Studies have highlighted a lack of awareness about breast cancer, negatively impacting breast self-examination practices. The Eastern Province has particularly high incidence rates. Knowledge of risk and protective factors can aid in prevention and early detection. While some studies show good awareness, this research aims to assess women's knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer risk factors and warning signs in the Eastern Province. Methodology This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province from June to October 2023 to assess breast cancer awareness among adult females. Data were collected via an online survey. Data were cleaned in MS Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington) and analyzed in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York). Results Our study assessed breast cancer awareness in 697 participants in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. Most were aged 20-24 years (30.3%), married (49.2%), and Saudi nationals (97.6%), with higher education (59.4%). Significantly, 69.2% received education on breast cancer risk factors/signs. Some had personal breast cancer diagnoses (5.0%), and 31.7% had affected family members. Participants showed good awareness of various risk factors and warning signs. Significant associations were found between nationality, personal breast cancer diagnosis, and knowledge and attitudes about risk factors. Age, marital status, occupation, education on breast cancer, and personal breast cancer diagnosis influenced knowledge and attitudes about warning signs. Conclusion Our study findings indicate generally good awareness of breast cancer risk factors and warning signs among participants. Age, marital status, occupation, education on breast cancer, and personal breast cancer diagnosis influenced knowledge and attitudes about risk factors and warning signs. Educational efforts should target lesser-known risk factors to enhance prevention and early detection.

Worldwide review with meta-analysis of women's awareness about breast cancer

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the awareness levels of breast cancer (BC) worldwide and investigate factors associated with BC awareness to determine differences in awareness between China and other countries.

METHODS

This systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines and included 92 articles up to July, 2021. We calculated percentages for BC awareness levels and conducted subgroup analysis and cumulative meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total 84% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 78-90%) of women knew about BC; however, only 51% (95%CI: 37-66%) and 40% (95%CI: 24-56%) of women were aware of BC symptoms and BC risk factors, respectively. The most commonly known BC symptom was breast lump (71%, 95%CI: 62-80%), and BC family history was the most well-known BC risk factor (61%, 95%CI: 54-69%). Subgroup analysis showed lower awareness levels among Chinese and Asian women than women from other countries. Cumulative meta-analysis showed no obvious progress in BC awareness levels over time. We investigated 15 awareness-related factors, the most frequent of which were education level (61.8%), occupation (29.4%), and age (26.5%).

CONCLUSION

BC awareness levels remain low. Improving BC awareness is critical, especially in developing countries.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Effective education programs are urgently needed to improve women's BC awareness.

The impact of consanguinity on women's attitudes toward molecular testing of breast cancer in Saudi Arabia

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in adult women in Saudi Arabia; however, awareness about molecular testing for breast cancer is insufficient. The authors aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes to determine sociodemographic factors that correlate with perceptions of genetic testing among Saudi women. Materials & methods: This cross-sectional community-based study used a questionnaire to investigate the relationships between various social and economic factors. Results: There was a significant difference in interest in undergoing molecular testing between women in consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages. Conclusion: The data show that consanguinity adds an extra layer of complexity to other sociodemographic barriers that hinder the efficacy of early breast cancer detection and prevention programs in Saudi Arabia.

Awareness of breast cancer screening and risk factors among Saudi females at family medicine department in security forces hospital, Riyadh

Objectives:

To describe the level of knowledge about breast cancer screening and breast cancer risk factors according to sociodemographic characteristics and to know the most common source of their knowledge among the females participating in this study.

Patients and Methods:

A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted through distributing validated pretested Arabic questionnaire. The sample are Saudi adult females age 18–55 years attending the Family Medicine Department at Security Forces Hospital for healthcare services or accompanying patients.

Results:

Of 384 participants, 57% were aware that lump or thickening in the breast could be a sign of breast cancer and 68% knew bleeding or discharge from nipple as a warning sign of breast cancer. Fortunately, 291 women (75.8%) have a good knowledge about breast cancer risk factors, and only 93 women (24.4%) have poor knowledge. Regarding knowledge about the screening of breast cancer, 60.9% knew breast self-examination and clinical breast examination (CBE) are the methods of early detection of breast cancer. About 53.1% of women have heard about CBE.

Conclusion:

All the participants showed sufficient knowledge about the risk factors and symptoms of breast cancer but insufficient knowledge about screening methods. These findings are encouraging for public awareness about how to screen themselves and guidance to health authorities for developing effective breast healthcare programs in the entire Kingdom for the all-female population.

Low Awareness of Breast Cancer and Considerable Barriers to Early Presentation Among Saudi Women at a Primary Care Setting

In Saudi Arabia, breast cancer is diagnosed at advanced stage compared to Western countries. Nevertheless, the perceived barriers to delayed presentation have been poorly examined. Additionally, available breast cancer awareness data are lacking validated measurement tool. The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of breast cancer awareness and perceived barriers to seeking medical care among Saudi women, using internationally validated tool. A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult Saudi women attending a primary care center in Riyadh during February 2014. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire based on the Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM-breast). Out of 290 women included, 30 % recognized five or more (out of nine) non-lump symptoms of breast cancer, 31 % correctly identified the risky age of breast cancer (set as 50 or 70 years), 28 % reported frequent (at least once a month) breast checking. Considering the three items of the CAM-breast, only 5 % were completely aware while 41 % were completely unaware of breast cancer. The majority (94 %) reported one or more barriers. The most frequently reported barrier was the difficulty of getting a doctor appointment (39 %) followed by worries about the possibility of being diagnosed with breast cancer (31 %) and being too busy to seek medical help (26 %). We are reporting a major gap in breast cancer awareness and several logistic and emotional barriers to seeking medical care among adult Saudi women. The current findings emphasized the critical need for an effective national breast cancer education program to increase public awareness and early diagnosis.

Factors associated with insufficient awareness of breast cancer among women in Northern and Eastern China: a case-control study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the awareness and knowledge level of breast cancer among Chinese participants.

DESIGN

Case-control study.

SETTINGS

This study was based on the database of the minister-affiliated hospital key project of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China that included 21 Chinese hospitals between April 2012 and April 2013.

PARTICIPANTS

Matched study was designed among 2978 participants with Han ethnicity aged between 25 and 70.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Student's t-test, Pearson's χ² test, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to know the level of breast cancer knowledge and find the breast cancer awareness-associated factors.

RESULTS

80.0% (2383/2978) of the participants had poor awareness level of breast cancer. In-depth knowledge of breast cancer such as early symptoms and risk factors was poorly found among them. Television broadcast and relatives or friends with breast cancers were the main sources of information about breast cancer. Of all participants, 72.8% (2167/2978) had heard about breast cancer as a frequent cancer affecting women, and 63.3% (1884/2978) knew that family history of breast cancer was a risk factor for breast cancer. Over half of them were aware that a breast lump could be a symptom of breast cancer. Multivariate analysis identified the following variables that predicted awareness of breast cancer: young age (OR=0.843, 95% CI 0.740 to 0.961), occupation (agricultural worker) (OR=12.831, 95% CI 6.998 to 23.523), high household social status (OR=0.644, 95% CI 0.531 to 0.780), breast hyperplasia history (OR=1.684, 95% CI 1.273 to 2.228), high behavioural prevention score (OR=4.407, 95% CI 3.433 to 5.657).

CONCLUSION

Most women were aware of breast cancer as a disease, but their in-depth knowledge of it was poor. More publicity and education programmes to increase breast cancer awareness are necessary and urgent, especially for the ageing women and agricultural workers.

Awareness of Breast Cancer among Female Care Givers in Tertiary Cancer Hospital, China

Objective:

Breast cancer is a worldwide public health issue and most common cancer diagnosed among women including China, where advanced stages at diagnosis appears to be increasing and an ever-rising incidence twice as fast as global rates. The study was conducted to describe the awareness of breast cancer and associated factors among care giver women in tertiary Cancer Hospital, China.

Methods:

Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 261 women selected by systematic random sampling. Information provided by the participants was converted into awareness scores for analysis using SPSS version 23. Awareness scores were dichotomized in to ‘good awareness and ‘poor awareness’ taking median score=11 as the cut-off point. Data analysis was performed using the binary logistic regression. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Result:

The study showed that 46.7% of the respondents had good awareness. Breast lump was the most commonly known symptom of cancer by 61.7% of the respondents. Slightly more than half of the study participants acknowledged having a past history of breast cancer, drinking alcohol and having close relative with breast cancer as potential risk factors for breast cancer (63.6%, 58.6%, and 55.6% respectively). Nevertheless, a vast majority of the study participants were unable to appreciate modifiable risk factors of the disease. More than half of the participants had never/rarely checked their breasts and all of the participants wrongly answered breast cancer knowledge age related risk. Awareness level was significantly associated with entertainment preference (OR=3.57; 95%CI=1.71, 7.44) and residence setting areas (OR=2.4; 95%CI=1.04, 5.69).

Conclusion:

The study indicated suboptimal awareness while entertainment preference and residence setting were significantly associated with awareness level. Public awareness campaigns should be made by dissemination of information about breast cancer through health education and printed Medias with great emphases on women living in rural areas.