Molecular Subtypes of Receptor-defined Breast Cancer from Nakuru, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction

The incidence of breast cancer in Sub-Saharan-Africa (SSA) is rising. Expression of hormone receptors and molecular-subtyping is paramount in rationalizing prognosis and therapy. There exists significant variation in molecular status of breast cancer in SSA. We aimed to describe the receptor status and molecular subtypes of breast cancer at our centre.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study on patients with breast cancer enrolling for oncological care at our centre beginning May 2018 to December 2021.

Results

We included 345 patients with a median age of 49 years, 331 female and 14 males. The most common histological variant was invasive-ductal -carcinoma of no-special-type from both biopsy (84.3%) and mastectomy specimens (82.8%). DCIS accounted for only 2.9%. ER positive tumours accounted for 62.8% from biopsy and 66.7% from mastectomy specimens. The majority of the female patients had luminal-type disease (Luminal A or B) with 65.2% from biopsy specimens and 67.3% from mastectomy specimens. About 20% had TNBC.

Conclusion

Breast cancer patients from Nakuru, Kenya, are likely to be young and with luminal-subtype invasive ductal carcinoma. In contrast to some previous reports, less than a quarter of our patients have TNBC. We recommend prioritization, standardization and scaling of receptor testing and molecular-subtyping to optimize treatment protocols and personalized management strategies for breast cancer patients.