The epidemiological study of breast cancer in Eastern Azerbaijan of Iran during 2010-2012 and compared to previous 3 years (2007-2009)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women. Survival rate depends on early detection and health care. The incidence rate of breast cancer varies by geographic region. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of breast cancer in Tabriz during two phases (2007-2009 and 2010-2012)
All breast pathologic records were studied in all hospitals in Tabriz. Malignant cases were classified according to the tumor–node–metastasis classification. Data were compared across the study. Statistical analyses were performed using Excel (Microsoft Excel 2010) and SPSS (version 16.0).
The results showed that the number of patients increased 52.76 percent in phase 2 compared to the first three years. A significant decrease in the diagnosis stage III was observed between phases 1 and 2 (P value=0. 001, X2=21. 721, CI=0. 0001-0.001).
Our results confirmed that a downstaging trend in breast cancer has occurred in Tabriz, despite the lack of formal screening programs. This may be due to an increasing awareness among Azeri women about the warning signs of breast cancer, enhanced available health services, and an improvement in socioeconomic status.