Insufficient Knowledge of Breast Cancer Risk Factors Among Malaysian Female University Students

BACKGROUND: Despite continuous argument about the efficacy of breast self-examination; it still could be a life-saving technique through inspiring and empowering women to take better control over their body/breast and health. This study investigated Malaysian female university students’ knowledge about breast cancer risk factors, signs, and symptoms and assessed breast self-examination frequency among students.

METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2013 in nine public and private universities in the Klang Valley and Selangor. 842 female students were respondents for the self-administered survey technique. Simple descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for data analysis.

RESULTS: The uptake of breast self-examination (BSE) was less than 50% among the students. Most of students had insufficient knowledge on several breast cancer risk factors.

CONCLUSION: Actions and efforts should be done to increase knowledge of breast cancer through the development of ethnically and traditionally sensitive educational training on BSE and breast cancer literacy.