Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the leading cause of death globally, still it’s early diagnosis could improve prognosis and reduce the mortality rate to a larger extent. Primary care units could play an important role in the early detection of breast cancer through various national screening programs providing awareness for the general public regarding the disease and its early diagnosis. However, data on the role of primary care units in screening for breast cancer in Saudi Arabia is very limited. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the role of primary care units in Saudi Arabia in the early detection of breast cancer. A systemic review of the literature was performed using PubMed database targeting studies published between 2008 and 2018. The Search terms used for systematic search included “early detection”, “breast cancer” and “Saudi Arabia”. Selection criteria required the studies to mention the age group of the included female subjects and the region in Saudi Arabia where data collection was performed. A total of 83 articles were collected. Studies on animals were excluded ending up with 20 studies which were selected for the final screening. A total of seven studies were considered as eligible to be included in the systematic review covering a total of 5254 Saudi females. The study concludes that the primary care units in different regions of Saudi Arabia play a pivotal role in educating females on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Educational programs and awareness campaigns are recommended to which could increase the knowledge and awareness of breast cancer in the Saudi population.

Key words: Breast cancer, early detection, early diagnosis, Saudi Arabia