Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent form of cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accounting for 11% of all female cancers. It is considered to be a progressive disease with a poor prognosis if detected late. The low level of knowledge and practice of breast self-examination is an important method of prevention. The study was aimed at assessing the knowledge of breast cancer and practice of Breast Self-Examination (BSE) among female secondary school students in Riyadh city. Material & Methods : A cross-sectional descriptive correlation design was used in this study. A representative probability sample was recruited (Sample Size = 917 Students). A selfadministered questionnaire was prepared by the researcher. It consists of four parts. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software package (version 16) for data entry and analysis. Results: The results of the study indicated that none of the secondary school students had an excellent knowledge regarding breast cancer; 98.8% of the participants had a fair level of knowledge about breast cancer. The mass media was the most common source of information about breast cancer. The majority of participants did not perform breast self-examination 80.8%; only 3.4% perform (BSE) on monthly basis. There was a statistically significant relation between level of breast cancer knowledge and secondary school type, nationality, family history of breast cancer and secondary school levels but there was no significant relation between knowledge of breast cancer and age groups, marital status and family income level. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a negative family history of breast cancer was a significant predictor for lower scores on the level of knowledge of breast cancer. However, age group, family history of breast cancer were significant predictors of performance of breast self-examination. Conclusions : This study revealed that most of the female secondary school students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia had very low knowledge about breast cancer. We recommended developing a health educational program about breast cancer for students, teachers and the community, to raise awareness.

Abstract:The perceived of those susceptible to breast cancer (BC) such as female adolescent is significant. Early detection lead to early prevention. The present study aimed to probe the perception of female adolescent at age group of 15-20 years in Riyadh about BC (phenomena) and the relationship between demographic characteristics of students and their perception regarding BC as a way of improving high school student toward health knowledge. A cross-sectional prospective study conducted among governmental and private school students. The study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from February to May 2014. A Representative probability sample of secondary school girls (n=917) in both Governmental and private was recruited for conducting this study. A structured questionnaire was developed which included part about four constructs of Health Belief Model and other parts about sociodemographic data and items related to students' source of information about BC. The validity and reliability for the scale was established. It was found that the perceived level of participants was moderate (M=3; SD =1.07) which provide an important baseline data about perception of toward BC. It is crucial to improve students level of perception toward BC and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) among female adolescent students within community. A further study is needed to explore the perception of female adolescent using both quantitative and qualitative methodology to elicit cultural issue in BC perception and breast self-exam.