The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) and Applicability to Filipino Women

The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) and Applicability to Filipino Women in Predicting Breast Cancer Risk: A Retrospective Study By Dr. Patriccia Anne Mae Paulino

Current trends in the incidence of breast cancer would show higher prevalence in high income or first world countries. Breast cancer is detected earlier because of the rampant use of screening tools. In contrast to this the prevalence rate appears to be lower in middle and low income or third world countries such as the Philippines. This is due to limited access to healthcare and poor or essentially non-existent screening programs. Corollary to this, the disease is oftentimes diagnosed at an advanced stage, hence survival rate of breast cancer in the Philippines is below 50%. Another area of concern is that an estimated 70% of breast cancers in the Philippines are indigents, with minimal access to health care services.

Several prospective studies looking at the accuracy of the BCRAT tool were previously performed but these studies were done predominantly in Western populations. Limited data is available from studies conducted on the Filipino population. The diagnostic accuracy of the BCRAT has not been fully evaluated yet. The purpose of this study is to analyze the applicability of this model to Filipino ethnic groups using data gathered from a single tertiary hospital in Manila.

This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) to Filipino women and correlate the risk factors for breast cancer that were studied in Western countries to that of Filipino women.

The results of this study will help Filipino women enrich their awareness on breast cancer and understand the different risk factors associated with the disease. Most importantly, it will aid health care professionals in identifying women with a high risk for breast cancer, who may benefit more from closer follow ups and targeted screening. This in turn may lead to better long-term outcomes, such as an improved survival rates, due to early detection of breast cancer.