Dr. Mandeep Singh Malhotra
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women around the world, including India. The peak incidence in India is occurring between the ages of 45 -49 years. The solution to problem lies in early detection. The two important methodologies are tactile examination and radiological assessment in form of Mammography. This study explores the concept of enabling and training visually impaired women known as Medical Tactile Examiners with enhanced tactile sense to perform Tactile Breast Examination (TBE) for early detection of Breast Cancer.
Material & Method: A total 1338 women were enrolled. Tactile Breast Examination included intensive and meticulous examination of every cm of breast by three different touch pressures using specialized strips to guide the visually impaired. It was preceded by recording information around lifestyle habits, pregnancy, lactation, menstruation, family history, etc. The radiological assessment included Ultrasound for women less
than 40 years and Mammogram for 40 years and above. Data generated was statistically analyzed.
2.6% of 1338 women were doing routine breast screening; 16% had Body Mass Index > 30; 3% were into substance abuse; 7% experienced menstrual irregularities; 16% were nulliparous; 15% of the parous women had insufficient lactation. 5% had family history of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer and 4% had previous history of Breast Cancer. Tactile Breast Examination findings were normal in 756/1338 (56.5%), amongst which 8/756 (1%) had radiology reports with BIRADS 4 (suspicious for malignancy) findings. Medical Tactile Examiners during the process of TBE identified palpable breast alterations in 582/1338 (43.5%) of the cases, amongst which 29/582 (5%) were identified as BIRADS 4. The statistical analysis suggests Tactile Breast Examination having a high sensitivity (78.3%) and a very high negative predictive value (98.9%)
The process of Tactile Breast Examination by visually impaired appears apt for breast screening as it detects almost any aberration both benign and malignant in breast which is amenable to human touch and misses out in just 1% changes which can be malignant. It has the potential to become vocational avenue for visually impaired women.
