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  1. Low Breast Conserving Surgery (BCS) rates in public hospitals in Malaysia: The effect of stage and ethnicity
    Wong WJ, Mosiun JA, Hidayati Z, Balkis R, Sharif SZ, Lee D, et al.
    Breast, 2019 Aug;46:136-143.
    PMID: 31176055 DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2019.05.016
    INTRODUCTION: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with radiation therapy is the procedure of choice for early-stage breast cancer. Survival and locoregional recurrence is non-inferior to mastectomy, with superior cosmetic and psycho-social outcomes. Differing health systems have demonstrated a wide variation in the rate of BCS. Little is known about the rate of BCS and factors influencing its practice in middle resource countries. This study aims to examine the BCS rates in Malaysia and to identify factors influencing its uptake.

    METHODOLOGY: This is a multi-centre, cross-sectional study involving the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (QEH), and Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (TARH). Patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from January 2014 to December 2015 were included, excluding stromal cancers and lymphomas. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified factors influencing BCS.

    RESULTS: A total of 1005 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer in the allocated time frame. Excluding incomplete records and those who did not have surgery, 730 patients were analysed. Overall BCS rate was 32.9%. The BCS rate was highest at QEH (54.1%), followed by UMMC (29.5%), and TARH (17.4%). 16.9% had BCS after neoadjuvant therapy. Factors influencing BCS uptake included age, ethnic group, breast-surgeon led services, AJCC Stage, tumour size, HER-2 expression, and tumour grade.

    CONCLUSIONS: The rate of BCS in Malaysia is low. A wide variation of rate exists among the studied hospitals. Younger age, earlier AJCC stage, and the presence of a Breast sub-specialist surgeon, would make it more likely that the patient has her breast conserved.

  2. Barriers to help-seeking for Malaysian women with symptoms of breast cancer: a mixed-methods, two-step cluster analysis
    Rajaram N, Jaganathan M, Muniandy K, Rajoo Y, Zainal H, Rahim N, et al.
    BMC Health Serv Res, 2023 Mar 01;23(1):206.
    PMID: 36859265 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09046-x
    BACKGROUND: Improving help-seeking behaviour is a key component of down-staging breast cancer and improving survival, but the specific challenges faced by low-income women in an Asian setting remain poorly characterized. Here, we determined the extent of help-seeking delay among Malaysian breast cancer patients who presented at late stages and explored sub-groups of women who may face specific barriers.

    METHODS: Time to help-seeking was assessed in 303 women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer between January 2015 and March 2020 at a suburban tertiary hospital in Malaysia. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify subgroups of women who share similar characteristics and barriers. Barriers to help-seeking were identified from nurse interviews and were analyzed using behavioural frameworks.

    RESULTS: The average time to help-seeking was 65 days (IQR = 250 days), and up to 44.5% of women delayed by at least 3 months. Three equal-sized clusters emerged with good separation by time to help-seeking (p 

  3. Fulltext Presentation of Breast Cancer and Impact of Patient Navigation on Timeliness of Diagnosis and Treatment and on Adherence to Treatment Recommendations in a Multicenter Network in Malaysia
    Jaganathan M, Ang BH, Ali A, Sharif SZ, Mohamad M, Mohd Khairy A, et al.
    JCO Glob Oncol, 2024 Mar;10:e2300297.
    PMID: 38484197 DOI: 10.1200/GO.23.00297
    PURPOSE: Breast cancer deaths disproportionately affect women living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Patient navigation has emerged as a cost-effective and impactful approach to enable women with symptoms or suspicious mammogram findings to access timely diagnosis and patients with breast cancer to access timely and appropriate multimodality treatment. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the impact of patient navigation on timeliness of diagnosis and treatment in LMICs.

    METHODS: We established a nurse- and community-navigator-led navigation program in breast clinics of four public hospitals located in Peninsular and East Malaysia and evaluated the impact of navigation on timeliness of diagnosis and treatment.

    RESULTS: Patients with breast cancer treated at public hospitals reported facing barriers to accessing care, including having a poor recognition of breast cancer symptoms and low awareness of screening methods, and facing financial and logistics challenges. Compared with patients diagnosed in the previous year, patients receiving navigation experienced timely ultrasound (84.0% v 65.0%; P < .001), biopsy (84.0% v 78.0%; P = .012), communication of news (63.0% v 40.0%; P < .001), surgery (46% v 36%; P = .008), and neoadjuvant therapy (59% v 42%, P = .030). Treatment adherence improved significantly (98.0% v 87.0%, P < .001), and this was consistent across the network of four breast clinics.

    CONCLUSION: Patient navigation improves access to timely diagnosis and treatment for women presenting at secondary and tertiary hospitals in Malaysia.

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