Abstract

Some of the risk factors for breast cancer were compared by menopausal status on 427 patients with proven breast cancer. Statistical analysis was performed with t-test or Chi-Square test and five-year survival rate was obtained by Kaplan-Meier survival method. The results were as follows. 1) In premenopausal patients, the mean age was 40 years old and the peak incidence was in the 5th decades. In postmenopausal patients, the mean age was 55 and the peak incedence was in the 6th decades. 2) Breast feeding was used in 170 premenopausal patients (79.8%) and in 109 postmenopausal patients (94.9%) and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.0001). 3) The mean body weight of premenopausal patients was 59.5Kg and that op postmenopausal patients was 56.4 Kg and there was no statistically significant difference. 4) The mean ages at menarch were 15.7 and 16.4 years old for pre and postmenopausal patients respectively, and the difference was statistically significant. 5) In premenopausal patients the first full term delivery occurred most frequently between the ages of 24 and 29 years and in postmenopausal patients this occurred most frequently before the age of 23. There were 16 nulliparous women in premenopausal patients and l9 in postmenopausal patients. 6) Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the most common histologic type in both pre and postmeaopausal patients. The histologic types were similar in both group of patients except mucinous carcinoma which was more common in premenopausal patients 7) The five-year survival rates of pre and postmenopausal patients were 86.7% and 81.0 %, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.315).

• Keywords: Premenopause, Postmenopause, Risk factor, Breast cancer