Breast cancer in woman younger than 35 years in Tunisia: Retrospective study about 124 cases

Objectives. - Our aim was to report the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of breast cancer in young women and to evaluate the therapeutic results in the central part of Tunisia. Patients and methods. - We report the results of a retrospective study including 124 patients under 35 years old treated for breast cancer between 1995 and 2007 in the Radiotherapy Department of CHU Farhat Hached, Sousse. Results. - The mean age of our patients was 31.3 years. T2N0, node positive (N+), high grade (SBRII and III) and endocrine responsive tumors were the most frequent. Fourteen patients had metastatic disease. One hundred and fifteen patients underwent a surgical treatment, which was conservative in 35 cases and radical for the others followed by radiotherapy on 114 patients. Chemotherapy, especially based on the FEC protocol, was administrated to 89% of all patients. Forty-five patients received also hormonotherapy. After a median follow-up of 48.5 months, 51 patients remained free of disease. The 5 years overall survival was 67.7%, the 5 years free disease survival was 58.2%. Discussion and conclusion. - The 5 years overall survival of breast cancer in young women varies between 55 and 75%, it was 67.7% on our study. These results can be improved by early diagnosis, adapted treatment and nowadays with targeted therapies. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.