Impact of demographic and treatment factors on short-term survival outcomes in Breast Cancer patients: A Retrospective study

Abstract

Background

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women and remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Understanding the relationship between demographic characteristics, treatment modalities, and survival is essential for improving patient management. This study evaluated the association of demographic characteristics with treatment modalities and one-year overall survival among patients with breast cancer treated at a tertiary cancer centre.

Methods

A retrospective observational study was conducted among 313 patients with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer managed between January and December 2023 at a tertiary cancer centre in Maharashtra, India. Demographic characteristics, treatment modalities, and one-year overall survival were retrieved from hospital records. Associations between categorical variables were analysed using the Pearson chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The mean age at diagnosis was 54.0 ± 12.5 years, and 49.8% of patients were aged 50–70 years. Urban residents accounted for 58.5% of the study population. Chemotherapy was the predominant principal treatment modality (69.6%), followed by surgery (19.2%) and other treatment modalities (11.2%). At one-year follow-up, 311 (99.4%) patients were alive and two (0.6%) had died. Age was significantly associated with treatment modality (P = 0.047), whereas place of residence was not associated with treatment modality (P = 0.85) or one-year overall survival (P = 0.63). Treatment modality demonstrated a statistically significant association with one-year overall survival (P = 0.0003).

Conclusion

Among patients with breast cancer treated at a tertiary cancer centre, age influenced treatment selection, whereas place of residence did not affect treatment modality or one-year overall survival. The observed association between treatment modality and one-year overall survival should be interpreted in the context of disease severity and clinical decision-making inherent to observational studies. Larger prospective multicentre studies with longer follow-up are required to identify independent predictors of survival.