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

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