Correlation of cancer types with stages and symptoms: analysis-based descriptive cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and aim: One of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide is Cancer which accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in recent years. Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells in a multi-stage process that typically progresses from a pre-cancerous lesion to a malignant tumor. The globally most common cancers are breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, skin (non-melanoma), and stomach. Bangladesh is not an exception regarding cancer either. Breast, lung, oral, cervical, and esophageal cancers are the most common ones in Bangladesh. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study is to explore cancer types, build correlation with stages, symptoms and comorbidities and analyze biochemical and hematological data to ultimately generate new findings which can assist in the prognosis and diagnosis of cancer and develop proper treatment strategies to improve overall survival. Materials and Methods: All of the 280 (aged 11-85) respondent’s data of this study were diagnosed at Labaid Cancer Hospital and Super Specialty Center. The data were collected from September 12 2022 to April 30, 2023, for our study population which consisted of cancer complete records. Descriptive data has been shown as frequency (%), mean, median, and range, as appropriate. The privacy of the respondents and confidentiality of the data was strictly maintained as per protocol. Results: Among the 280 respondents, the mean age was 54.45 years. The respondents consisted of 33.2% of males and 66.8% of females. 92.1% of cancer patients exhibited medical symptoms. The number of asymptomatic patients was 7.9% (22). 32.1% (90) of respondents reported only one symptom, while 60.0% (168) reported more than one symptom together. The cancer type that was in the highest number was Breast Cancer 21 % (59), and the lowest was Bladder + Cervical cancer 0.36 %. The minimum, 11.1% of respondents were Stage 1 cancer patients while the maximum, 42.5% of respondents were Stage 2 cancer patients. Most of the biochemical and hematological parameters were within the reference range except a few above the range which can be used as biomarkers for early detection of cancer. Conclusion: Females were more affected by cancer compared to males. Most of the respondents had breast cancer and the cancer type in the lowest number was tongue cancer. Most of the respondents were in stage 2 of cancer. Anorexia and weakness were the most reported symptoms throughout all the cancer types. Among the patients, the most prominent types of co-morbidities were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypothyroidism. By evaluating the biochemical and hematological reports, higher levels of serum ALT, creatinine, low hemoglobin, high ESR, neutrophil, and platelet count had a strong correlation with the tumor formation and progression of cancer.