[Breast cancer in the Pedro Claver hospital in Bogotá, 2004]

Reviewing new cases of breast cancer attending Clinica San Pedro Claver, Bogotá, Colombia, during 2004.

Patients were recruited from the meeting offered by the service which all new breast cancer patients attend. Hospitalised patients, outpatients, clinical meetings, consulting rooms, operating room schedules and pathology reports were consulted to ensure that a true cross-section was included. The information was recorded in an Excel file and analysed using EPIINFO software.

Breast cancer was diagnosed in 220 patients. Average age was 59; 18 % were aged les than 40. Infiltrative ductal cancer (84,1 %) was the most frequently found histological type. Distribution by stage showed that most patients presented stage 0 to stage II (62,7 %). Tumours measured 2 or more centimetres in 78 % of the patients. 83 % of the patients had surgery and 60 % chemotherapy. However, these scores were lower in patients aged more than 69 (58,3 % for surgery and just 13,9 % for chemotherapy, p<0.05). Hormonotherapy was prescribed for 40,9 % of the patients.

Breast cancer is the more frequent found carcinoma. Clinica San Pedro Claver's cancer records revealed the personal, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of new female breast cancer patients attending this hospital during 2004. Most patients were in early breast cancer stages; however, detecting a greater number of non-palpable lesions should still be stressed. Treating elderly patients (those older than 69 regarding that found for younger patients) and the quality of procedures, hormonal receptor reports and therapeutic decision should also be evaluated in an attempt to explain the low percentage of hormone treatment currently being used in the hospital.