TITLE:
Breast Cancer: Knowledge, Attitudes on Risk Factors and Means of Screening by Medical Students from Lomé, Togo
AUTHORS:
Tchin Darre, Mazamaesso Tchaou, Toukilnan Djiwa, Essossinam L. Tcharié, Luc Valère C. Brun, Fifonsi A. Gbeasor-Komlanvi, Bidamin N’Timon, Abdoulatif Amadou, Panakinao Simgban, Didier Koumavi Ekouévi, Gado Napo-Koura
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Screening, Knowledge, Medical Students, Togo
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.9 No.4,
October
13,
2020
ABSTRACT: Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women
around the world. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and
attitudes about breast cancer screening among students in the Faculty of Health
Sciences at the University of Lomé. Methods: This was a prospective
descriptive transversal study conducted among students enrolled in the Faculty
of Health Sciences (FSS) of the University of Lomé (UL) in the 2019 school year
account 2020. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and
attitudes of medical students about breast cancer screening. Results: In
total, the questionnaire was completed by 934 students, for a response rate of
57.1%. The most frequently mentioned risk
factors were the presence of a family history of breast cancer (n = 799,
85.55%) and the use of oral or injectable contraceptives (n = 606, 64.88%).
There is a statistically significant link between the participants’ knowledge
of the self-examination and clinical examination of the breasts and certain
socio-demographic characteristics, namely age (OR = 0.2, 95% CI [0.11 - 0.75], p-value 0.0001), the level of study (OR = 1.5, 95% CI [0.55 - 2.46], p-value = 0.0054), the follow-up of a course on breast cancer (OR
= 2.63, 95% CI [0.32 - 4.33], p-value = 0.009) and the effectiveness of an
internship in a gynecology-obstetrics department (OR = 0.77,
95% CI [0.49 - 2.56], p-value 0.0001).
Similarly, there is a statistically significant link between participants’
knowledge of mammography and certain socio-demographic characteristics, namely
age (OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.50 - 0.84], p-value = 0.0005),
the level of study (OR = 1.92, 95% CI [1.11 - 3.46],
p-value 0.0001), the follow-up of a course or training on breast cancer (OR = 2.44, 95%
CI [0.08 - 3.91], p-value 0.0001) and
the effectiveness of an internship in a gynecology-obstetrics department (OR = 0.62,
95% CI [0.33 - 0.85], p-value Conclusion: Knowledge and attitudes related to breast cancer screening
have been found to be generally satisfactory to medical students. Active
measures are needed to develop educational programs for health personnel, which
could enable them to disseminate knowledge and positively influence patient
attitudes.