Pedigree studies and evaluation of risk factors of breast cancer in Goa

Incidence of breast cancer (BC) is increasing in most of the countries, including the areas which have had previously low rates.

The aim of this prospective study was to analyze the pedigrees of the patients for detecting hereditary factor prevalence and to investigate the possible risk factors associated with BC in a sample population from Goa.

A prospective analysis was performed for 95 BC patients between 2011 and 2012. For assessing the risk factors, a proforma was designed and the necessary data was collected by interview. The process of collecting family history for drawing the pedigree included interviewing the informant.

Online calculators of statistics were used for standard deviation at www.easycalculation.com and fishers test at www.graphpad.com.

High frequency of BC was revealed in the sample population from Goa. This could be attributed to the changes in reproductive patterns, physical inactivity and obesity, or general increase in BC awareness. Factors which did not influence the frequency of BC in the sample population include parity, oral contraceptives, alcohol consumption, occupation, exercise, and nutritional supplement. High incidence of family history of 168/1000 individuals was observed in the present study.

Proper management of BC is possible after assessment of cumulative risk of BC in females by a thorough study of both environmental and genetic factors. Cumulative risk can be greatly reduced by controlling the environmental risk.