Clinicopathological Characteristics and Outcome of very Young Breast Cancer Patients at a Referral Center

Breast cancer is common among women worldwide, especially in developed countries, urban areas, and Caucasian women. It is rare among women under 35. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on women under 35 diagnosed with breast cancer.

The study focused on breast cancer in young adults aged 18–35. It recorded clinical and epidemiological information and treatment details for each patient. The patients were monitored for four years to determine their survival rates. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Of 334 women, 219 patients were between the ages of 31–35. The most common type of breast cancer was hormone receptor (HR) positive and HER2-negative, which accounted for 41.6% of the cases. The report showed that 5% of cases were grade 1; while, grades 2 and 3 were reported in 50.9% and 43.6% of cases, respectively. The study found that 16.9% of patients were in stage I, 44.4% were in stage II, 30.5% were in stage III, and 8.2% had metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Among the 68 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 29.4% had a complete pathological response. The study had a mean follow-up of 71.5 months (± 26.6), with 4-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates of 66% and 80%, respectively.

Breast cancer cases in very young women account for 9.5%. There was a significant association of subtypes with stage and grade.