Tiara Cristina Romeiro Lopes

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in pre- and postmenopausal women

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components among pre- and postmenopausal women, as well as the association between menopausal status and MS. Materials and methods A retrospective study was conducted at a reference cardiology outpatient clinic in a city located in Northwestern Paraná State, Brazil. A total of 958 medical records of symptomatic climacteric women evaluated between 2010 and 2014 were analyzed. The study consisted of two groups: pre- and post-menopausal women. MS was characterized according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Programs Adult Treatment Panel III - NCEP-ATP III-2005. Results MS was observed in 18.5% of the total study population; 9.4% of the premenopausal women and 22.2% of the postmenopausal women displayed MS, corresponding to a relative risk of 2.75. In addition, the frequency of MS increased with age. Regarding the components of MS, postmenopausal women were more likely to have high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels < 50 mg/dL; systolic blood pressure (SBP) values ≥ 130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) values ≥ 85 mmHg; and fasting glucose levels ≥ 100 mg/dL. Conclusion MS was more prevalent among postmenopausal women than among premenopausal women.

Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer among Women Attending a Reference Service in Brazil

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for reducing mortality. This study aimed to analyze factors associated with delay in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment among women attending a reference cancer service. Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed with data collected from medical records and interviews conducted with women diagnosed with breast cancer and treated from October 2013 to October 2014 at a cancer reference hospital in Paraná, Southern Brazil. Results: A total of 82 participants were enrolled during the study period; their average age was 58.2 ± 11.5 years. The average time taken for final diagnosis of breast cancer was 102.5 ± 165.5 days. Treatment onset was delayed in the majority of cases, and the average time elapsing from diagnostic biopsy to onset of primary treatment was 72.3 ± 54.0 days. The odds of treatment delay were higher among the women with a low educational level. Conclusions: The results underline the need for proposals aimed at early detection, identification of risk factors and timely provision of treatment by health managers that focus on this group.

Mammographic Screening of Women Attending a Reference Service Center in Southern Brazil

BACKGROUND To investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with performance of annual mammography by women above 40 years of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted at an oncology reference service in Southern Brazil from October 2013 to October 2014 with 525 women aged 40 years or older. RESULTS The prevalence of annual mammography was 54.1%; annual mammographic screening was performed for women without private medical insurance, who were under hormone replacement therapy and who had used contraception in the past. An association was found between non-performance of breast clinical and self-examination and non-performance of mammographic screening. CONCLUSIONS Use of mammography for breast cancer screening in the public health care setting proved to be accessible; nevertheless, the proportion of screened women was low, and they exhibited poor adherence to the basic measures of care recommended for breast assessment. Thus, control of breast cancer requires implementing actions targeting the population most vulnerable to non-adherence to screening in addition to continuously monitoring and assessing that population to reduce the prevalence of this disease.

Breast Cancer in Young Brazilian Women: Challenge for the Oncology Care

Objective. To investigate and compare aspects of breast cancer in young women ( 40 years old). Methods. Retrospective, cross-sectional, analytical, and exploratory study based on data from 2009 to 2012 obtained from the Breast Cancer Information System (SISMAMA) and the Unified Health System Information Data (DATASUS). The studied population consisted of women () with malignant breast cancer. The analysed variables were education level, race, nodule detection at the clinical examination or image studies, presence of palpable axillary lymph nodes, surgical approach, and tumor histological type and grade. Results. There was increasing detection of breast cancer cases in young women among the studied years. Young women had more palpable lymph nodes (OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.18–1.39), ductal carcinoma as the most frequent histologic type (OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.22 to 1.53), and grades II and III tumor (OR 16.01 , 95% CI: 13.30 to 19.28 ). The lesion detection by clinical examination was higher in women <40 years (OR 1.34, 95% CI: 1.24 to 1.45). Conclusion. Although there are early detection measures related to breast cancer, they are not the usual practice of the young female public, suggesting the need for a review of existing public policies in the country.

The Obesity and the Risk of Breast Cancer among Pre and Postmenopausal Women

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and the obesity is one of the factors related to the risk of breast cancer mainly in postmenopausal women. This study investigated the association between obesity in pre- and postmenopausal women with the development of breast cancer and the expression of estrogen, progesterone, HeR-2 and triple-negative (TN) receptors. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 100 patients with recently diagnosed breast cancer and 400 age-matched controls. The women were divided into pre- and post-menopausal groups. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that postmenopausal women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 at pre-diagnosis and at the most recent measurement were 1.50 (95% CI 1.06-2.13) and 1.56 (95% CI 1.11-2.21) times more likely to develop breast cancer, respectively. These women had a prevalence of obesity of 27.7% when considering pre-diagnosis BMI and 29.4% when analyzing the indicator of recent BMI. When only the cases regarding the presence of obesity with clinicopathological variables were analyzed, a total of 95.2% of the postmenopausal women with pre-diagnostic obesity according to BMI presented the positive estrogen receptor (ER) subtype. Conclusions: In Brazilian women, there is an association between obesity and the risk of breast cancer postmenopause; moreover, there is an association between the occurrence of the positive ER subtype in postmenopausal women and pre-diagnostic obesity according to BMI.