Results of clinical breast examination in the rural women of west Lucknow, India

Abstract

Problems: Though the breast cancer is not common in rural women of India, we had an opportunity to conduct clinical breast examination (CBE) in 5137 women attending camps for cervical cancer screening in the villages of west Lucknow. Experimental Approach: The 5137 women who attended camps between May 2013 to February 2020 showed different breast abnormalities such as lump, fibroid cyst, nipple discharge and other minor complaints which were analyzed in relation to associated risk factors. Major Findings: The lump in the breasts was seen in only 72 women (1.4%) and other abnormalities were also found very low. All the abnormalities were found higher between 31-40 years and were mostly seen in the nulliparious and literate women. A definite association was seen between late menopause and breast abnormalities. As marriages are performed early in the villages, maximum number of first child birth were seen upto 30 years of age and definite relationship was seen between breast abnormalities with minimal 1 year duration of breast feeding. Conclusion: The occurrence of breast lump and other abnormalities were lower in rural women and it appears correlated with their hard, tuff and simple life.