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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 51
| Issue : 4 | Page : 486 |
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Prevalence of abnormal mammogram among working Thai women
Viroj Wiwanitkit
Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok, Thailand
| Date of Web Publication | 1-Feb-2016 |
Correspondence Address:
Prof. Viroj Wiwanitkit
Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok
Thailand
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0019-509X.175349
How to cite this article:
Wiwanitkit V. Prevalence of abnormal mammogram among working Thai women. Indian J Cancer 2014;51:486 |
Sir,
Breast cancer is a common malignancy among the females. Screening for breast cancer is a focus in preventive oncology. There are several screening methods. The selection is usually based on the cost and availability. In Thailand, a developing country, promotion of breast screening through breast self-examination (BSE) is recommended. According to a previous report, BSE can be helpful in diagnosis of breast abnormalities among the Thais in rural areas.[1] Nevertheless, BSE cannot provide a good diagnostic result. It is reported that many Thai women with normal BSE still harbor the breast disease including cancer and the use of mammography can be helpful in increasing the diagnostic rate.[2] However, the routine screening by mammography is still not recommended routinely in clinical practice guideline for Thai practitioners.
We report a study on the prevalence of abnormal mammogram among working Thai women. The results of mammography examination among a group of 50 well-educated women, aged 25-60 years old, working in a college were reviewed (for privacy reason, the name of the college is blinded). As per the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System, there were five abnormal cases (three typical benign, one intermediate concern and one high probability of malignancy) giving the prevalence of 10%. All five cases are healthy and reported no use of hormone or abnormal BSE results. This is the first report on the prevalence of abnormal mammogram among Thai healthy females. Literature review shows few studies in hospital settings, which cannot be the true representative of healthy subjects (since most examinations were performed in cases with breast complaints).[3] Prevalence of abnormal mammogram among this small group of Thai females is very high and this might recommend for the implementation of routine mammography screening among Thai working women. Nevertheless, routine mammography is not routinely recommended in the age group below 40 years because radiation burden due to screening mammography is very high if women expose them at a younger age with more of glandular tissue in the breast.
| » References | |  |
| 1. | Wiwanitkit V. A survey on breast self-examination among Thai adult women in a rural distant subdistrict. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2004;5:439-40.  |
| 2. | Muttarak M, Chaiwun B, Peh WC. Role of mammography in diagnosis of axillary abnormalities in women with normal breast examination. Australas Radiol 2004;48:306-10. |
| 3. | Pak-art P, Bunjunwetwat D, Vajragupta L, Amornrattanapaijit W, Vajarapongse K, Sampatanukul P, et al. Abnormal findings in breast imaging: A hospital-based survey in 4264 Thai women. J Med Assoc Thai 2004;87 Suppl 2:S179-84. |
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