Poor Knowledge and Practice Towards Breast Cancer among Women in Baghdad City, Iraq

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Breast Cancer Patients Toward Lymphedema Complications: Cross-Sectional Study

Breast cancer is commonly treated through surgical resection, but a common complication of the procedure is lymphedema of the upper limbs, which can significantly impact patients' daily life. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of breast cancer patients with regard to lymphedema complications. This cross-sectional study was conducted by a self-administered questionnaire between August and October 2022 toward breast cancer patients in our Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. A total of 529 breast cancer patients were enrolled, including 186 (35.16%) aged < 50 years old. Participants had moderate knowledge, attitudes, and practices with scores of 18.24 ± 3.145 (possible range: 0-30), 62.24 ± 10.260 (possible range: 17-85), and 63.27 ± 20.967 (possible range: 21-105), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that high school/technical secondary school (OR = 1.880, 95% CI = 1.107-3.194, P = 0.019) and being retired (OR = 0.482, 95% CI = 0.245-0.947, P = 0.034) were independently associated with good knowledge. Knowledge (OR = 1.321, 95% CI = 1.222-1.428, P < 0.001) was independently associated with a good attitude. Furthermore, knowledge (OR = 1.262, 95% CI = 1.151-1.384, P < 0.001) and attitude (OR = 1.122, 95% CI = 1.085-1.160, P < 0.001) were independently associated with good practice. Breast cancer patients have moderate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding lymphedema complications. Effective education and self-management programs are needed to improve patients' KAP toward lymphedema.

Using Google Trends Data to Study Public Interest in Breast Cancer Screening in Malaysia

Objective:

This study aims to investigate the public pattern in seeking breast cancer screening information in Malaysia using Google Trends.

Methods:

The Google Trends database was evaluated for the relative Internet search popularity of breast cancer and screening-related search terms from 2007 to 2018.

Results:

Result showed downward trends in breast cancer search, whereas mammogram and tomosynthesis search fluctuated consistently. A significant increment was found during Pink October month. Breast cancer search term achieved the highest popularity in the east coast of Malaysia with [x² (5, N=661) = 110.93, P<0.05], whereas mammogram attained the highest search volume in central Malaysia [x² (4, N=67) = 18.90, P<0.05]. The cross-correlation for breast cancer was moderate among northern Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak (0.3 ≤ r_s ≤ 0.7).

Conclusion:

Public interest trend in breast cancer screening is strongly correlated with the breast cancer awareness campaign, Pink October. Breast cancer screening should be promoted in the rural areas in Malaysia.

Knowledge and Source of Information About Early Detection Techniques of Breast Cancer Among Women in Iran: A Systematic Review

Background

An increase of access to knowledge about early detection techniques of breast cancer can reduce this mortality rate. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and source of information about early detection techniques of breast cancer among Iranian women.

Methods

Both International (PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) and national (scientific information database [SID] and Magiran) databases were reviewed launching to September, 2017 to obtain related articles. Steps involving the screening, analysis of quality of the studies and extraction of papers were performed by two researchers.

Results

Of the 749 studies searched initially, 25 studies performed on 11,756 people were selected for the final stage. General knowledge for breast cancer screening among women ranged from 4.5% to 45%. The number of people with sufficient knowledge about breast self-examination in various studies was between 5% and 79.8%. The most important source of information was the Healthcare team.

Conclusions

Considering the poor knowledge and different source of information, it is suggested that educational programs be conducted around the country especially in at-risk populations.