Breast carcinoma in women age 25 years or less

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have examined breast carcinoma in young women aged < or = 35 years at diagnosis, there are only occasional cases reported in very young women aged < or = 25 years, and, to the authors' knowledge, no series are available. The presentation, tumor biology, behavior, and outcome of breast carcinoma in very young women are not known, and the rarity of breast malignancy within this age group could lead to diagnostic delays. METHODS: The tumor characteristics and survival of 15 women aged < or = 25 years at the time of diagnosis, have been reviewed and compared with women aged 26-35 years under the care of Guy's Hospital's Breast Unit during the same period of time. Where appropriate, the two groups were individually matched for tumor size (clinical measurement) and histologic grade. RESULTS: Fifteen cases were examined, with a median follow-up of 108 months and a median age of 24 years. The median duration of symptoms was 4 weeks, and the median tumor size was 20 mm. Two patients had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) only, while the other 13 patients had invasive carcinomas, none of which were Grade I. A mastectomy was performed on 8 out of 15 patients (53%). Axillary nodal metastases were present in 4 out of 12 patients (33%). Of the 13 cases of invasive disease, 9 out of 13 patients (69%) experienced recurrence and died of breast carcinoma. Median disease free survival for patients with invasive disease was 86 months. There was no difference in overall survival between the patients aged < or = 25 years and those aged 26-35, but taken together young women < or = 35 had a worse prognosis than women between 36 and 65, due to a higher incidence of high grade and estrogen receptor negative tumors. CONCLUSIONS: The current study suggests that among young women with breast carcinoma there is no difference in prognosis between the very young and the young. Despite two thirds of patients being node negative, the high mortality rate indicates a need for an optimal selection of adjuvant therapy among these cases.     

Young breast-cancer patients have unfavorable prognosis because of biologically aggressive tumors

A retrospective analysis of 418 breast cancer patients was done to investigate the differencies in survival, in clinical and in histopathological variables between the different age groups giving special attention to young women. Three age groups were used, young (age less-than-or-equal-to 40 years), middle-aged (41-50 years) and elderly women (>50 years). The tumours in young women had high mitotic activity (p<0.001), high S phase fraction (p=0.025), dense lymphocyte infiltration (p=0.027), high nuclear variable values (p=0.020-0.042), bilateral disease (p=0.001) and low estrogen receptor content (p=0.013) as compared with other age groups. The prognosis of patients under the age of 40 was more unfavorable than their middle-aged counterparts (p=0.0207). The young women have more rapidly proliferating breast tumours than the middle-aged or the elderly women, and moreover the tumours are often bilateral.     

Breast cancer-specific survival by clinical subtype after 7 years follow-up of young and elderly women in a nationwide cohort

Age and tumor subtype are prognostic factors for breast cancer survival, but it is unclear which matters the most. We used population-based data to address this question. We identified 21,384 women diagnosed with breast cancer at ages 20–89 between 2005 and 2015 in the Cancer Registry of Norway. Subtype was defined using estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) status as luminal A-like (ER+PR+HER2-), luminal B-like HER2-negative (ER+PR-HER2-), luminal B-like HER2-positive (ER+PR+/-HER2+), HER2-positive (ER-PR-HER2+) and triple-negative (TNBC) (ER-PR-HER2-). Cox regression estimated hazard ratios (HR) for breast cancer-specific 7-year survival by age and subtype, while adjusting for year, grade, TNM stage and treatment. Young women more often had HER2-positive and TNBC tumors, while elderly women (70–89) more often had luminal A-like tumors. Compared to age 50–59, young women had doubled breast cancer-specific mortality rate (HR = 2.26, 95% CI 1.81–2.82), while elderly had two to five times higher mortality rate (70–79: HR = 2.25, 1.87–2.71; 80–89: HR = 5.19, 4.21–6.41). After adjustments, the association was non-significant among young women but remained high among elderly. Young age was associated with increased breast cancer-specific mortality among luminal A-like subtype, while old age was associated with increased mortality in all subtypes. Age and subtype were strong independent prognostic factors. The elderly always did worse, also after adjustment for subtype. Tumor-associated factors (subtype, grade and stage) largely explained the higher breast cancer-specific mortality among young. Future studies should address why luminal A-like subtype is associated with a higher mortality rate in young women.     

Radiation risk associated with mammography screening examinations for women younger than 50 years of age

The target group of the German mammography screening program, conducted according to the European guidelines, is clearly defined: all women aged 50 to 69 years without evidence of breast cancer are invited to screening mammography every two years. In the present study the question was raised whether breast cancer screening by means of mammography is--from the point of view of radiation hygiene--justified also for women under 50 years of age. Based on current radio-epidemiological breast cancer studies, the excess lifetime risk (ELR) to incur or die from breast cancer of a 40, 45 and 50 year old woman was assessed. Different risk models were used to estimate the radiation risk, e.g. models given for the "Life Span Study" of the atomic bomb survivors and the risk model given in the recent Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII report. The benefit risk ratio was defined as the ratio of the number of "saved lives" due to screening to the number of deaths due to "radiation induced breast cancer". All estimations were based on the assumption that screening is taking place up to the age of 69 years, with screening examinations being performed annually up to the age of 50 and every two years from the age of 50 onwards. The glandular dose per two-view mammography investigation was assumed to be 4 mGy. The benefit due to mammography screening was assumed to be 25% for all age groups. Assuming screening from the age of 40 or 45 years, the ELR of breast cancer is on average about 3.5 or 2 times as high compared to the ELR associated with screening starting from the age of 50 years. In comparison to the benefit risk ratio, which results for women participating in a mammography screening from the age of 50 years, the benefit risk ratio for women starting with screening already from the age of 40 or 45 years is reduced by a factor of 3 or 2. With the present data--with regard to both, the benefit and the radiation risk--it appears not to be justified to expose women from the age of 40 years to the additional radiation exposure associated with a mammography screening.     

30岁以下乳腺癌临床病理特征及分子生物学特点分析

目的探讨30岁以下青年乳腺癌的临床病理学特征及分子生物学特点。方法回顾性分析105例30岁以下青年女性单侧原发性乳腺癌患者的临床和病理资料,并与157例同期随机选取的中老年乳腺癌患者作对照,分析其病理类型、临床分期、腋淋巴结状况、雌激素受体(ER)、孕激素受体(PR)、C-erbB2及血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)蛋白表达状况。结果青年乳腺癌误诊率为45．71％;以浸润性导管癌为主,但浸润性小叶癌占27．9％,明显高于对照组(P= 0．039);腋淋巴结转移率、C—erbB2和VEGF蛋白表达水平均高于对照组,ER、PR水平低于对照组(P<0．05);两组临床分期无统计学差异(P>0．05)。结论30岁以下青年乳腺癌具有独特的病理学特征和分子生物学特点,且误诊率高,进展快,转移早,提示预后差;患者年龄不是影响乳腺癌预后的独立指标;早期诊断是提高青年乳腺癌患者生存率的唯一有效手段。     

Lung cancer in patients younger than 40 years of age.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of lung cancer in younger patients differ from those of older patients. METHODS: Among 2,763 lung cancer patients treated during the period from April of 1972 to April of 1997, we retrospectively investigated the clinical features and prognosis of 53 patients under 40 years of age (young group) and compared them with the findings of 1,886 patients with 60 years of age or older (elderly group). RESULTS: The proportion of female patients in the younger group was significantly higher than that in the elderly group (39.6% vs. 24.1%). The young group had a significantly higher proportion of adenocarcinoma (75.5% vs. 44.8%) and stage III-IV disease (73.6% vs. 59.2%) and a significantly lower proportion of squamous cell carcinoma (3.8% vs. 32.1%). Regarding the selection of therapy, in the young group, a significantly lower proportion of patients underwent surgical therapy (35.8% vs. 41.5%) and a significantly higher proportion of those (37.7% vs. 16.4%) received chemotherapy. The overall survival between the young and elderly groups was not significantly different. Moreover, the 5-year survival rate of the patients undergoing a surgical resection was 56.1% in the young group and 44.8% in the elderly group (P = 0.0615). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the prognosis of young patients with lung cancer is at least equivalent to that of older patients; therefore, they should be managed according to the general therapeutic guidelines.     

The impact of comorbidities on outcomes for elderly women treated with breast-conservation treatment for early-stage breast cancer

PURPOSE: Breast cancer incidence increases with age and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly women, but is not well studied in this population. Comorbidities often impact on the management of breast cancer in elderly women. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From 1979 to 2002, a total of 238 women aged 70 years and older with Stage I or II invasive carcinoma of the breast underwent breast-conservation therapy. Outcomes were compared by age groups and comorbidities. Median age at presentation was 74 years (range, 70-89 years). Age distribution was 122 women (51%) aged 70-74 years, 71 women (30%) aged 75-79 years, and 45 women (19%) aged 80 years or older. Median follow-up was 6.2 years. RESULTS: On outcomes analysis by age groups, 10-year cause-specific survival rates for women aged 70-74, 75-79, and 80 years or older were 74%, 81%, and 82%, respectively (p = 0.87). Intercurrent deaths at 10 years were significantly higher in older patients: 20% in those aged 70-74 years, 36% in those aged 75-79 years, and 53% in those 80 years and older (p = 0.0005). Comorbidities were not significantly more common in the older age groups and did not correlate with cause-specific survival adjusted for age. Higher comorbidity scores were associated with intercurrent death. CONCLUSIONS: Older age itself is not a contraindication to standard breast-conservation therapy, including irradiation. Women of any age with low to moderate comorbidity indices should be offered standard breast-conservation treatment if otherwise clinically eligible.     

Reproductive factors and risk of breast carcinoma in a study of white and African-American women

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the association between reproductive factors and the risk of breast carcinoma among African-American women. The authors assessed whether the number of full-term pregnancies, age at first full-term pregnancy, and total duration of breastfeeding were associated with similar relative risk estimates in white and African-American women in a large multicenter, population-based case-control study of breast carcinoma. METHODS: Case patients were 4567 women (2950 white women and 1617 African-American women) ages 35-64 years with newly diagnosed invasive breast carcinoma between 1994 and 1998. Control patients were 4668 women (3012 white women and 1656 African-American women) who were identified by random-digit dialing and were frequency matched to case patients according to study center, race, and age. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: For white women, the reduction in risk of breast carcinoma per full-term pregnancy was 13% among younger women (ages 35-49 years) and 10% among older women (ages 50-64 years). The corresponding risk reductions for African-American women were 10% and 6%, respectively. Risk decreased significantly with increasing number of full-term pregnancies for both races and both age categories. Duration of lactation was inversely associated with breast carcinoma risk among younger parous white (trend P = 0.0001) and African-American (trend P = 0.01) women. African-American women tended to have more children compared with white women, but parity rates were lower in younger women than in older women in both racial groups. However, breastfeeding was substantially more common in young white women than in young African-American women. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, parity and lactation had similar effects on breast carcinoma risk in white and African-American women. If younger African-American women now are giving birth to fewer children than in the past, without a substantial increase in breastfeeding, breast carcinoma rates may continue to increase at a more rapid rate among these women compared with white women.     

Effect of breast-conserving therapy versus radical mastectomy on prognosis for young women with breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Among middle-aged and older women with early breast carcinoma, breast-conserving therapy (BCT) has been shown to have an effect on survival that is similar to that of modified radical mastectomy (RM). Nonetheless, it remains to be established whether BCT also is the optimal treatment option for early breast carcinoma in young women, because these women generally have more aggressive disease and a higher frequency of local recurrence compared with older women. METHODS: We investigated a cohort of 9285 premenopausal women with primary breast carcinoma who were age < 50 years at diagnosis. These women were identified from a population-based Danish breast carcinoma database containing detailed information on patient and tumor characteristics, predetermined treatment regimens, and survival. RESULTS: In total, 7165 patients (77.2%) were treated with RM, and 2120 patients (22.8%) were treated with BCT. We calculated the relative risk of death within the first 10 years after diagnosis according to surgical treatment and age, both before and after adjustment for known prognostic factors. No increased risk of death was observed among women who received BCT compared with women who underwent RM, regardless of age at diagnosis (< 35 years, 35-39 years, 40-44 years, or 45-49 years), despite the increased risk of local recurrence among young women. Restricting the analysis to women with small tumors (size < 2 cm) yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having a higher rate of local recurrence, young women with breast carcinoma who receive BCT are similar to young women treated with RM in terms of survival.     

A retrospective analysis comparing patients 70 years or older to patients younger than 70 years with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with surgery at Indiana university: 1989-1999

Surgery remains the cornerstone of therapy for medically operable patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there are few reports on the short-term morbidity and long-term survival following surgery in elderly patients with NSCLC. The surgical experience in 280 patients with NSCLC at Indiana University from 1989-1999 are reported with a comparison of patients who are >or= 70 years versus < 70 years of age. Preoperative characteristics, operative procedures, postoperative courses, and survival were compared between the age groups. Fifty percent of elderly patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 36.2% had adenocarcinoma, versus 41.3% and 44.4% in younger patients, respectively. In both groups, most patients had T1 or T2 tumors and N0 disease. The majority of patients in both age groups had a lobectomy. However, more patients younger than 70 years had chest wall resections and were more likely to undergo a pneumonectomy (19.5% vs. 6.9%). The median number of postoperative hospital days was shorter for younger patients (9 days vs. 11 days). Overall, more complications occurred in older patients, but no significant difference in cardiac or pulmonary complications was observed between the groups. There was no significant difference in survival between the age groups. This single-institution series demonstrates that surgical intervention for appropriately selected elderly patients with NSCLC results in similar complication rates and long-term survival when compared to their younger counterparts.     

The natural history of breast carcinoma in the elderly: implications for screening and treatment

BACKGROUND: The authors evaluated the two indicators of metastatic proclivity (namely, virulence [V; the rate of appearance of distant metastases] and metastagenicity [M; the ultimate likelihood of developing distant metastases]) of breast carcinoma in elderly women. The authors then compared these characteristics with the corresponding characteristics in a cohort of younger women to determine whether breast carcinoma was more indolent in women age > 70 years, as is commonly believed in the medical community. METHODS: The authors examined 2136 women who underwent mastectomy without adjuvant systemic therapy at The University of Chicago Hospitals (Chicago, IL) between 1927 and 1987. The median follow-up period was 12.3 years. Distant disease-free survival (DDFS) was determined for women who did not receive systemic therapy. V and M were obtained from log-linear plots of DDFS. RESULTS: No significant difference in tumor size at presentation was observed among women age < 40 years, women ages 40-70 years, and women age > 70 years (P = 0.86), whereas significantly fewer women age > 70 years presented with positive lymph nodes compared with younger women (P = 0.05). In women with negative lymph node status, there was a higher DDFS rate among patients ages 40-70 years (81% at 10 years) compared with patients age > 70 years (65% at 10 years; P = 0.018). There was no significant age-related difference among women with lymph node-positive disease (P = 0.2). For example, the 10-year DDFS rate for women ages 40-70 years was 33%, compared with 38% for women age > 70 years. Among those with lymph node-negative disease, V was 3% per year for women ages 40-70 years as well as women age > 70 years. Among women with lymph node-negative disease, M was 0.20 for patients ages 40-70 years and 0.35 for patients age > 70 years. In women with positive lymph node status, both V (11% per year vs. 10% per year) and M (0.70 vs. 0.65) were similar in both age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer women age > 70 years had lymph node involvement at presentation. However, when this finding was taken into account, the authors found no evidence that breast carcinoma was more indolent in women age > 70 years. These results support the use of similar diagnostic and therapeutic efforts for elderly women and younger women, with modification for elderly women based only on comorbidity.     

Clinicopathological features and treatment sensitivity of elderly Chinese breast cancer patients

This study aimed to determine the clinicopathological features and treatment sensitivity of elderly breast cancer patients in China. The clinical data of 594 elderly breast cancer patients of 70 or more years of age were collected and compared to those of 657 patients of less than 70 years of age to analyze whether breast cancer in the elderly is different and whether the difference affected outcome. The median age was 75.2 years in the elderly patients and 49.8 years in the young patients. Age of menarche, parous status and body mass index were similar in the two groups. A higher frequency of steroid receptor-positive rate, a lower expression of HER-2 and p53, less axillary node-positive rate and earlier tumor stage were found in patients of 70 years or older. The 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was 77 and 82% in the elderly and 86 and 93% in the young patients, respectively. Patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive or lymph node (LN)-negative cancers showed a more favorable outcome in the elderly patients. RFS and OS were increased in elderly patients who underwent endocrine therapy or omitted chemotherapy. Breast cancer in the elderly had more favorable tumor features, using estrogen receptor and lymph node status as prognostic factors. It was therefore concluded that adjuvant endocrine therapy may benefit elderly patients, while chemotherapy may not.     

Cancer in the very elderly Dutch population

BACKGROUND: Cancer incidence and mortality rates rarely are studied in people age > 85 years. Usually, patients ages 65 years, 75 years, and 85 years of age are combined into 1 group because of small numbers. The number of people age > or = 85 years in the Netherlands increased from 99,000 in 1976 to 203,000 in 1995 (an increase of 105%). The growth of the total population in this period was only 13%. This study addressed cancer incidence and mortality rates among the very elderly in the Netherlands. METHODS: Cancer mortality data (1976-1995) and population data were obtained from Statistics Netherlands, whereas cancer incidence data (1989-1995) were provided by the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Cancer incidence and mortality rates were calculated and trends in cancer mortality were studied. RESULTS: Total cancer incidence rates were highest in the age group 85-94 years, in men and women (3466/100,000 person-years and 1604/100,000 person-years, respectively). Prostate carcinoma was the most frequent cancer in men ages 85-94 years, followed by colorectal carcinoma. In women ages 85-94 years, colorectal carcinoma was most frequent, closely followed by breast carcinoma. In the 95+ years age group squamous cell skin carcinoma was the most frequent cancer in both men and women, followed by prostate carcinoma in men and breast carcinoma in women. Cancer mortality rates increased with increasing age to nearly 3700/100,000 person-years in men age 95+ years and 2500/100,000 person-years in women age 95+ years. In men, lung carcinoma was the most frequent cancer-related cause of death in patients age < or = 85 years, whereas in older men this applied to prostate carcinoma. In women, breast carcinoma was the most frequent cancer-related cause of death in all age groups > 55 years. Cancer as a cause of death became less prominent with increasing age. Over the period 1991-1995, 42% of deaths in men ages 55-64 years were attributed to cancer versus 52% of deaths in women (total population); these proportions in the 95+ years age group were 11% and 7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Peak incidence rates of major cancers were found in the very elderly population in the Netherlands. Different trends in age specific mortality rates of individual cancer sites were found, with stable rates in the middle age groups and increasing rates in the oldest age groups. This may reflect a real increase caused for instance by changes in mortality from other diseases and/or an artifactual increase caused by increased cancer detection rates in the (very) elderly.     

Clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma in the elderly: a study of 91 patients older than 70 years.

In order to determine the clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma in the elderly, a total of 622 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, including 91 patients 70 years or older, were retrospectively analysed with reference to their ages at the time of diagnosis. The proportion of females increased and that of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive cases decreased as age increased. Tumour sizes at the time of diagnosis were somewhat smaller in the elderly than in younger patients, whereas clinical stage taking liver function into consideration was similar in the two age groups. The prognosis in the elderly patients was similar to that in the younger ones in a clinical stage-matched comparison. Furthermore, by a multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model with inclusion of age and other clinical parameters, age was not selected in the final model as an independent predictor for survival. These results indicate that elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma have certain clinical features different from those in younger patients and that their prognosis is not necessarily poorer than in the latter.     

Lung carcinoma in patients age younger than 30 years

BACKGROUND: To the authors' knowledge, no study regarding lung carcinoma patients age <30 years has been published. Therefore, this study was undertaken to define the characteristics of lung carcinoma patients age <30 years. METHODS: Information regarding 26 patients with primary lung carcinoma who were age <30 years was obtained from 10 medical institutions and reviewed retrospectively. For comparison, 304 patients age > or = 30 years who were admitted to the First Department of Internal Medicine at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University between 1980-1996 were studied. RESULTS: Among the characteristics observed in the group of lung carcinoma patients age <30 years was a high incidence of female gender, no history of smoking, so-called "low grade malignancy," American Joint Committee on Cancer Stage I disease, and previous surgical resection. In addition, a low incidence of squamous cell carcinoma was noted, and a more favorable prognosis was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The current study noted clinical features that could be defined clearly in lung carcinoma patients age <30 years.     

Surgery for carcinoma of the breast in women over 70 years of age

A review of 100 women over 70 years of age treated for breast carcinoma is reported. The short- and long-term results of treatment were evaluated with a median follow up of 4.7 years. Due to our aggressive approach, only 11% of this group died from breast cancer, and the 5-year survival rate was 51%, including all stages of the disease. The result of this study indicates that elderly women with breast cancer should be treated by surgical methods that offer the best chance of cure, regardless of patient's age.     

Treatment patterns in elderly patients (greater than or equal to 70 years) with breast carcinoma. A retrospective study of the Gruppo Oncologico Clinico Cooperativo del nord-Est (GOCCNE)

The pattern of treatment used in elderly women affected by breast carcinoma was evaluated in a retrospective study by the North-East Clinical Cooperative Group in Italy (GOCCNE). Six divisions were involved in the study. The medical records of 115 elderly women were reviewed; the women's median age was 75 years (range, 70-93). Surgery was used in 70/72 operable patients (97%), although limited surgery plus radiotherapy was used in only 7.5%. Most stage II patients were treated with adjuvant tamoxifen, as were younger postmenopausal patients, according to the guidelines of the Bethesda Consensus Meeting. Comorbid conditions are of particular concern in therapy planning, considering that more stage III patients died of competing causes than for disease progression. The role of chemotherapy was very marginal.     

Incidence of chemotherapy-induced, long-term amenorrhea in patients with breast carcinoma age 40 years and younger after adjuvant anthracycline and taxane

BACKGROUND: Twenty-five percent of all women with breast carcinoma are premenopausal and are at risk for chemotherapy-induced menopause with long-term side effects. Although there is considerable documentation of the rates of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea with classic adjuvant regimens, there are inadequate data that address the impact of taxanes on menstrual function in this setting. The objective of this analysis was to determine the incidence of long-term amenorrhea (> or = 12 mos) in women with breast carcinoma age 40 years and younger after adjuvant anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy, with or without subsequent tamoxifen. METHODS: The authors identified 235 premenopausal women with breast carcinoma age 40 years or younger who were treated with adjuvant anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from January 1997 to June 2003. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-six patients met all eligibility criteria and had sufficient follow-up for evaluation. The median age of patients at diagnosis was 36 years (range, 27-40 yrs). All patients had regular pretreatment menses, 25 patients (15%) developed long-term amenorrhea, and 141 patients (85%) resumed menstruation. Eighty-two patients (49%) also received tamoxifen: The incidence of amenorrhea among them was 17%. There was a statistically significant association between age and the development of amenorrhea, with older women at higher risk (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The sequential addition of a taxane to standard adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy did not appear to produce a high rate of chemotherapy-related amenorrhea compared with historic controls. To increase the information available to assist young patients who are considering adjuvant therapy, prospective studies should incorporate menstrual function ascertainment by patient-reported history and assays of ovarian function.     

Risk Factors for Female Breast Cancer A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study in Madras, india

Five hundred and thirty-one histologically confirmed breast carcinoma cases examined from 1983 to 1986 inclusive at the Cancer institute (WIA), Madras, india, were matched for age, socioeconomic class and menopausal status with an equal number of controls. Cancer patients without diseases in breast, gynaecological organs or endocrine glands were used as controls. Risk factors for breast cancer were analyzed separately in the premenopausal and the postmenopausal groups. in neither group was there significant association between age at menarche and breast cancer risk. Single women had higher risk than married women. Nulliparity was found to be a risk factor in premenopausal women only. the relative risk increased with age at marriage and age at first birth. A three-fold risk was noted in both pre- and postmenopausal groups when the interval between age at first birth and menarche was more than 12 years and also in women who attained menopause between the age of 44-49.     

Descriptive Study on Selected Risk Factors and Histopathology of Breast Carcinoma in a Tertiary Care Centre in Kerala,India with Special Reference to Women Under 40 Years Old

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in Kerala, South India, with the incidenceincreasing in the past two decades, also in young women. However, there are limited data regarding the burdenof disease, its epidemiology and histopathological characteristics in the state. Materials and Methods: Thisdesciptive study covered 303 breast cancers evaluated during the period of December 2011 to August 2013 in theDepartment of Pathology, Government Medical College, Kottayam.The patients were also interviewed regardingselected risk factors. Results: The majority of the cases were 41-60 years of age with a mean at presentation of53 years. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the most common subtype, followed by pure mucinous carcinomaand then lobular carcinoma. Of the cases, 6.6% were nullipara and 52.8% had fewer than or equal to 2 children.Median age at first child birth was 23 years (national value-19.8 years). A significant proportion (15%) hadfamily history of breast cancer. Some 13.5%(41 cases) comprised the young breast cancer group (≤40years)with a mean age at first child birth in them was 27.4 years, 5 being nullipara and 6 having a positive familyhistory. Conclusions: Breast cancer awareness, better availability of screening techniques and identification andtargeting high risk groups all help to tackle the increasing load of breast carcinoma. A good proportion of casescomprised the young breast cancer group (under 40). Younger women should thus also be educated about breastcarcinoma-risk factors, symptoms and diagnostic techniques to help in early detection and effective approachesto treatment.