Triple assessment of breast lumps, effective method for diagnosis in limited resources setting

Abstract

Breast lumps are one of the common complaints for which a woman consults a surgeon. It is estimated that at least 50% of female population in USA consult surgeon some time in their life span for breast related symptoms, 25% among them will undergo breast biopsy and around 12% of them will develop some variant of breast cancer in their life time. Similar to worldwide trend, there is increase in the incidence of breast cancer in India too. This includes semi urban and rural areas where resources and access to facility for early diagnosis are limited. In such situations triple test for diagnosis plays an important role. It is effective in diagnosis, reliable, avoids multiple visits and helps in decision making regarding management. This study was conducted with an aim of assessing the accuracy of triple test in semi urban set up.