Breast Cancer Landscape In Eastern India: An Institutional Audit of Clinicopathology And Survival Metrics: Authors:...

Breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most diagnosed cancer globally. This retrospective audit, conducted in Eastern India, aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological profile and 5-year survival outcomes of 584 non-metastatic invasive breast cancer patients treated with curative intent between June 2016 and May 2023.

Clinical and pathological data were analyzed, and patients underwent various treatments, including neoadjuvant therapy, surgery, and adjuvant therapy. Hormone receptor and HER2/neu status were considered in the analysis.

The majority of patients were postmenopausal (60.5%), with T2 tumors (52.2%), clinical node-positive disease (61.5%) and most commonly clinical stage at presentation was Stage IIA (52.7%). Hormone receptor positivity was observed in 61.5% of cases, and HER2/neu positivity in 38.4%. Neoadjuvant therapy was administered to 39.4% of patients. The 5-year disease-free survival was 68.1%, and overall survival was 78.8%. Recurrence, particularly distant recurrence (72%), was the primary cause of treatment failure. Factors influencing survival included clinical nodal positivity and presence of lymphovascular invasion. HER2/neu-positive patients had a 5-year DFS of 65.9%, while triple-negative disease patients had the lowest DFS at 63.5%.

This audit provides important insights into breast cancer management at a tertiary care center in Eastern India. Most patients presented with Stage II or Stage III disease, reflecting the persistent burden of locally advanced presentation in the Indian setting. Survival outcomes were comparable to those reported in other large Indian series. These findings emphasize the need for improved early detection and the role of continuous institutional audits in refining healthcare delivery and improving outcomes.