Abstract
Introduction:
Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women worldwide and in Morocco. This study analyzes the socio-demographic, clinical, and molecular characteristics of breast cancer in patients treated at the Mohamed VI Cancer Treatment Center in Casablanca (CM-VI).
Materials and Methods :
This retrospective descriptive study included 833 patients diagnosed with histologically confirmed breast cancer in 2019 at CM-VI. Data were extracted from the center’s digitized medical records.
Results:
The cohort was predominantly female (98.7%), with most patients covered by social health insurance (88.8%) and married (57.8%). Overweight and obesity affected 42.7% of patients. Family history of cancer was noted in 28.6%, while only 2.9% had a personal history of cancer. The right breast was affected in 49.4% of cases. Invasiveductal carcinoma was the predominant histological type (82.6%), with Grade II tumors accounting for 56.2%. Hormonal receptor expression was common in estrogen receptors (75.7%) and progesterone receptors (70.8%), while HER2 was positive in 23% of cases. Stage II disease represented nearly half of cases (48.1%). Regarding molecular subtypes, luminal B was most frequent (50.1%), followed by luminal A (27.3%), triple negative (16.2%), and HER2-enriched (6.4%). Molecular subtype distribution showed significant associations with patient age (p=0.02) and disease stage (p=0.001), but not with sex, family, or personal cancer history, histology, or body mass index.
Conclusion:
These findings align with the international literature and provide the first integrated overview of breast cancer characteristics at the national level in Morocco. Further studies are required to validate and generalize these results to the broader Moroccan population, considering regional specificities.
Impact:
This study highlights the need to explore genetic profiles to support personalized treatment strategies based on age, stage, and molecular subtype; stresses targeting intratumor heterogeneity; and enhancing the screening of high-risk groups.