Comparison Of Risk Factors and Clinicopathological Features Between Pre- and Post-Menopausal Patients with Breast Cancer.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women globally with an estimated 2.3 million new cases in 2020. In Nigeria, it constitutes about 12% of all new cancers and 25% of all cancers in women. The risk factors of breast cancer include both non-modifiable and modifiable factors. There are clinical and biological differences between patients with pre-menopausal and post-menopausal breast cancer. This study aims to evaluate the differences in risk factors, disease presentation and tumour characteristics between premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer patients. Methodology: This is a 2-year prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between 1 Results: One hundred and thirty-three patients were recruited for the study. Seventy (52.6%) of them were pre-menopausal and 63 (47.4%) were post-menopausal. Their ages were from 19 to 78 with a mean of 46.94 ± 11.93. The peak age was 41-50 years and 30.8% of the patients were within this age range. Only late age at first pregnancy was significantly associated with pre-menopausal breast cancer. Conclusion: Similar risk factors and tumour characteristics with a higher prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer were found in both groups but late age at first pregnancy occurred significantly in pre-menopausal breast cancer patients.