Abstract P6-08-12: Gains in women’s education has not led to commensurate gains in seeking health-care early in breast cancer patients in urban India
Authors: Raghavan R , Alexander A , Prabhu J , Korlimarla A , Correa M , Raman N , Prasad MSN , Manjunath S , Shivananda S , Gopinath KS , Srinath BS , Sridhar TS 
Published: August 2014

Introduction:

Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed in urban Indian women. Historically the proportion of women presenting with advanced disease has been in excess of 50% at most regional cancer centres. The past 20 years has witnessed rapid economic growth and urbanization with significant gains in women's education and access to health. However, it is not clear if this has translated to earlier seeking of care in the educated.

The aim of this study was to examine if higher education (College) was a determinant in the time of seeking first medical consultation, and whether there were significant differences between women under the age of 40 versus women over 60 years old at the time of diagnosis.

Methods:

The data for analysis were obtained from a prospective longitudinal observational study conducted between 2008-2013 at a medical teaching hospital and a tertiary specialized cancer care centre. A total of 460 patients have been enrolled so far. All patients provided informed consent and the study has been reviewed and approved by the institutional ethics committees at these institutions. We have collected from the patients and their medical records information about their age at diagnosis, educational level, stage of disease, histopathology reports and clinical details.

Results:

Data from 194 patients have been used for the analysis. Patients were divided into one group of &lt; = 40Y of age (Group I, N = 58) and the second of &gt; = 60 years of age (Group II, N = 136). Mean age at presentation for the groups was 35 and 68 years respectively. As expected almost 1.5 times as many women under the age of 40 (36%) were college educated compared to the women over 60 (22%) (p = 0.05). The proportion of LABC in the two groups was not different with group I having 27% and group II 25%. The proportion of older women with LABC and a college degree was 20%. However, rather than the expected decrease in proportion of women with high education and LABC, 31% of young women with LABC had a college degree. LABC in the college educated was not different in the group I when compared to group II. (p = 0.39).

Conclusion:

The determinants of seeking health care are complex and influenced by a variety of factors including socio-economic status, access to health care, education, cultural beliefs, and personal preferences. While urban India's steady economic growth has been highlighted by the scholarly as well as the lay press, the data presented here suggest that there is not an automatic and linear transfer between education, economics and healthcare seeking behaviours. We suggest that while a lot of attention has been paid to awareness and screening, we may need to focus on local cultural factors, and perhaps provide support from female counsellors and care providers as critical components of attempting to bring our women to the hospital at the earliest.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P6-08-12.