Review on Breast Cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Breast Cancer (BC) is considered the most implacable malignancy and the leading cause of mortality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The literature on different aspects of BC is rich in contributions from developed and Western countries. Nevertheless, despite substantial individual efforts, the views of experts from KSA lack a collective portrayal. Hence, an attempt has been made to gather together the information in the form of an overview which includes some facets of BC. The views of experts from Saudi Arabia on these aspects of BC in the Kingdom included an amalgamation of a variety of articles published during last more than thirty years from different research and teaching institutions. The task was met up with peer reviewed english language articles cited in Pub Med, Pub Med Central, Science Direct, Up-to-date, Med Line, Comprehensive data bases, Cochrane library and the internet (Google, Yahoo). The study provides impetus on further analysis of the association between epidemiology, knowledge of BC and practice of breast self-examination (BSE), etiological factors, metastases and rate of survival. Further studies are warranted to enrich the information for planning of screening, management and preventive strategies of BC in KSA, which may indirectly benefit worldwide health care.