{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,3]],"date-time":"2026-11-03T18:12:31Z","timestamp":1793729551907,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,7]],"date-time":"2024-03-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1709769600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Breast cancer (BCa) is the most common cause of cancer death in Pakistan. In 2019, Pakistan saw the highest global BCa-associated death rate. But do Pakistani women know about the various aspects of BCa? And how prevalent are BCa screening methods amongst Pakistani females? These questions formed the basis for our study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted this review in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. On September 1, 2023, we searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar, and performed a citation search to search for eligible studies published in 2010 or after, using the following terms: \u201cbreast cancer\u201d and \u201cPakistan\u201d. Observational studies that evaluated BCa awareness and\/or practice amongst Pakistani females who were not associated with medicine were eligible. We used the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool to assess the risk of bias. We conducted a proportion meta-analysis to calculate pooled prevalences for variables.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Responses from 9766 Pakistani women across 18 included studies showed alarmingly low levels of BCa knowledge: risk factors, 42.7% (95% CI: 34.1%-51.4%); symptoms, 41.8% (95% CI: 26.2%-57.5%); diagnostic modalities, 36.3% (95% CI: 23.1%-49.4%); treatments, 46.6% (95% CI: 13.5%-79.8%). Prevalence of breast self-examination (BSE) and ever having undergone a clinical breast exam (CBE) was 28.7% (95% CI: 17.9%-39.6%) and 15.3% (95 CI: 11.2%-19.4%), respectively. BCa knowledge was significantly associated with better educational status, age, and socioeconomic status.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>On average, only two in five Pakistani women are aware of one or more risk factors, symptoms, or diagnostic modalities. Approximately one in two women know about possible BCa treatment. Less than one in three women practice regular BSE, and less than one in five women have ever undergone a CBE.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0298275","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,7]],"date-time":"2024-03-07T13:55:35Z","timestamp":1709819735000},"page":"e0298275","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Awareness regarding breast cancer amongst women in Pakistan: A systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3540-0998","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Muhammad","family":"Abdul Rehman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3881-5016","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Erfa","family":"Tahir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huzaifa","family":"Ghulam Hussain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ayesha","family":"Khalid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Syed Mohammad","family":"Taqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eilaf Ahmed","family":"Meenai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0298275.ref001","author":"International Agency for Research on Cancer, Cancer Today","year":"2020","journal-title":"Globacon"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0298275.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.1038\/s41597-023-02253-5","article-title":"Global trends and forecasts of breast cancer incidence and deaths","volume":"10","author":"Y Xu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci Data"},{"key":"pone.0298275.ref003","author":"International Agency for Research on Cancer, The Global Cancer Observatory","year":"2020","journal-title":"Globacon"},{"key":"pone.0298275.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"940514","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2022.940514","article-title":"The Burden of Cancer, Government Strategic Policies, and Challenges in Pakistan: A Comprehensive Review.","volume":"9","author":"A Ali","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Nutr"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0298275.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1475","DOI":"10.47391\/JPMA.6258","article-title":"Need For A National Cancer Registry In Pakistan: Challenges And Way Forward.","volume":"73","author":"S Begum","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Pak Med Assoc"},{"key":"pone.0298275.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2125","DOI":"10.2147\/CMAR.S270671","article-title":"Better Reporting and Awareness Campaigns Needed for Breast Cancer in Pakistani Women.","volume":"13","author":"NH Khan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cancer Manag Res"},{"key":"pone.0298275.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105781","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2019.105781","article-title":"Bridging the epidemiology-policy divide: A consequential and evidence-based framework to optimize population health","volume":"129","author":"D. 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