Breast Cancer Survival in Mongolian Women

Abstract

Cancer is becoming an important cause of mortality in developing country year by year. During last 10 years 5% of all cancer cases in Mongolian women were accounted for breast cancer. The aim of our study was to determine survival in women with breast cancer in Mongolia. The data of morbidity and mortality on breast cancer were collected retrospectively and were used to analyze stages of the cancer and survival from the time of diagnosis to death depending on stages. During 2003-2012 years totally 1008 cases with breast cancer were registered in National Cancer Centre. The breast cancers had been coded and classified according to International Classification of diseases, 10th Revision (ICD 10). The frequency distribution of cancer patients was evaluated by age, place of residence and stage of diagnosis. In Mongolia in 2003-2012, there were 1008 cases of breast cancer diagnosed and 41 (4.1%), 212 (21%), 553 (54.9%) and 200 (19.8%) of them were diagnosed in Stage I, II, II and IV of the disease respectively. Among patients who died from the cancer there were 4 (2.9%), 17 (12.3%), 71 (51.4%) and 46 (33.3%) who died in Stage I, II, III and IV of the cancer respectively. Among all participants of the study some 3% of women with the breast cancer died within the first year of detection of the cancer and the rest 97% of them survived the first year. In the second year after detection of the cancer 34% of women died and 96% survived. But all women with breast cancer had died by the ninth year after detection of the cancer. In Mongolia only one quarter of breast cancer are diagnosed in the earlier stages (25.1%) of the disease. Therefore, there is a need for improving services for detection of breast cancer in earlier stages.

Breast Cancer in Asia: Incidence, Mortality, Early Detection, Mammography Programs, and Risk-Based Screening Initiatives

“…In terms of timeliness, the stage at presentation of breast cancer varies widely throughout Asia. The median proportions of localized (Stage I and II) breast cancers detected in Asian countries, in order of income categories, are 33.6%, 43.0%, 50.0%, and 63.4% [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. The corresponding numbers for Stage I breast cancer are 7.2%, 10.7%, 25.6%, and 35.0% ( Figure 2 ).…”

Breast cancer in Mongolia: an increasingly important health policy issue

“…1 , 12 Also, since the majority of cancer patients are diagnosed at a relatively late stage, the disease has become a serious public health issue. 13 , 14 …”

“… 25 Similar findings were shown in the report from the NCC for the period 2003–2013, which found that the average survival time for Mongolian patients with breast cancer was 3.2 years. 14 Also in Mongolia, 88.7% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are reported to die from the disease within 5 years, 14 which is significantly higher than westernized states where 5-year survival is closer to 90%. The limited access to health services in remote areas may play a role in delay of diagnosis resulting in poor survival outcome.…”

“…In recent years, the importance of early detection for breast cancer has become a serious issue in Mongolia due to increasing reports of late presentation and rapid increase in incidence of the disease. 12 – 14 Since mammographic facilities have been established in both public and private hospitals in Mongolia, implementation of breast screening could be an effective approach to detect the disease at early stages. Although mammographic screening reduces mortality in westernized countries, there is no evidence that systems used elsewhere would be effective in Mongolia.…”