Journal of the Bahrain Medical Society
Year 2023, Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 1-7
https://doi.org/10.26715/jbms.35_2_1Muna Almohri1*, Fatema Al Jerdabi2 , Hala Al Asoomi2 , Mohamed Ali J. Mandeel3 , Hanan Abdulrahim4 , Lamya Ebrahim5 , Amal Buasali2 , Haya Al Subaei6
1Consultant Family Physician, Mother and Child Health Services, Primary Healthcare Centers, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
2Consultant Family Physician, Primary Healthcare Centres, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
3Consultant Family Physician, AlQalla Clinic, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
4Family Physician, Primary Healthcare Centres, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
5Consultant Breast Imaging Radiologist, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
6Medical student, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
*Corresponding author: Dr. Muna Ahmed Almohri, Consultant Family Physician, Chief of Mother and Child Health Services, Primary Healthcare Centers, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain; Email: muna.almohri@gmail.com, Tel. no.: 39676748.
Received date: January 15, 2023; Accepted date: February 19, 2023; Published date: June 30, 2023
For tables and figures, please refer to PDF.
Abstract
Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women globally and in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Studies have shown that screening mammography is an effective way to identify early stages of breast cancer in women and has decreased breast cancer mortality. Therefore, determining the outcome of breast cancer screening is essential for proper assessment and improvement of the screening program.
Objective: This study aims to assess the outcome of breast cancer screening by mammography for women attending Primary Healthcare Centers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of women who had screening mammograms in primary healthcare centers in the Kingdom of Bahrain for one year. The study included 2438 women aged 40 years and older. Data were extracted from electronic medical records.
Results: The most prevalent breast density level was scattered fibroglandular density (55.3%), while extremely dense breasts (5.3%) were the least common. The study showed that 68.3% of the reports were normal, while 31.7% of women were recalled for further imaging. The most common reasons for recalls were nodules/lumps in 34.2%. Additional imaging was done for 69.4% of the cases, while 30.6% of women missed follow-up appointments. Of the patients needing biopsies, the procedure was performed for 62.5% of the women; of these, there were histologically confirmed malignancies in 31.6%.
Conclusion: The breast cancer detection rate in this study is 0.5%. A recall rate of about 32% is higher than in other studies. This study also shows a high percentage of women who didn’t follow up for the additional images and procedures requested by radiologists, which needs further studies to identify the reasons. Educating women on the importance of compliance with the additionally requested workups and close monitoring and follow-up of the screened women by health facilities are crucial for the success of the breast screening program.
Keywords: Breast cancer, mammogram, screening, outcome, primary care