Breast cancer in young patients is relatively uncommon. There is no consensus about the impact of young age on prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of young age over the risk of recurrence of breast cancer using a population-registry cancer database in Spain. A retrospective study case-control type was designed. A total of 1,210 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A cutoff at 40 years was used to define two groups of patients: group A, ≤40 years (n = 111); and group B, >40 years (n = 1,099). Younger women showed a higher rate of undifferentiated tumors; a higher percentage of positive lymph nodes; lower rate of positivity of estrogen receptor, higher rate of nonconservative surgery and higher proportion of adjuvant therapies. The risk of recurrence was higher for women ≤40 years: HR =2.59 (95% CI: 1.60-4.18).
Conclusion: Breast cancer diagnosed at a young age (≤40 years) is correlated with higher recurrence rates.
© 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.