Clinicopathological characteristics and treatment of young women with breast cancer in China: a nationwide multicenter 10-year retrospective study

BackgroundBreast cancer is currently the most common female malignancy in China. However, the clinical features and overall prognosis of young women diagnosed with this malignancy remain unclear. This study aimed to describe the clinicopathological characteristics of young patients (≤34 years of age) with breast cancer and explore the current treatment approaches used in China.MethodsThis was a hospital-based, multicenter, retrospective study of women with breast cancer across seven Chinese hospitals from 1999 to 2008. A total of 295 young (≤34 years of age) patients (research group) and 2,119 women aged 35 to 49 years (control group) were included in the study. Patient epidemiology, pre-operative examinations, clinical pathology, and treatment were analyzed.ResultsThe percentage of young patients with breast cancer in the study group was 7.01%. These young women had a lower body mass index (BMI), a higher level of education, a lower number of previous births, and a lower history of breastfeeding than the control group (P<0.05). Increasingly, pre-operative use of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are being used to diagnose breast cancer in young women in China. In young women with breast cancer, breast cancer not otherwise specified (NOS) was the primary pathology. The carcinoma in young women was more prone to lymph node metastasis, showed less progesterone receptor (PR) expression, and was more advanced than observed in the control group (P<0.05). We found that the number of young breast cancer patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery in China is increasing.ConclusionsYoung breast cancer patients display unique clinicopathological features, including tumors of a higher grade than those aged 35 years or older. As breast cancer is more aggressive in younger women, prevention and early diagnosis are critical, and new policies should be developed in line with these findings.