Abstract OI: Breast Cancer in Young Women: Understanding Differences to Improve Outcomes

Abstract

Abstract Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in women age 40 years and younger in the United States, and a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Young women are more likely to develop more aggressive subtypes of breast cancer. Emerging data suggest the effect of age on breast cancer recurrence and death varies by tumor subtype, with young age particularly prognostic in women with ER-positive disease. Greater understanding of the biologic and genetic underpinnings of cancers that arise in younger women, potential differences in tumor and host responses including disease presenting in very premenopausal women or recently pregnant women, is critical to develop novel treatments to improve outcomes. There is also mounting evidence that access to care and behavioral differences leading to suboptimal treatment contribute to disparities in young women, including relatively poor adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy. Prevention, detection and management of non-adherence, with attention to unique issues facing young women including desire for future fertility and pregnancy, has been the subject of recent research for this vulnerable population who, unsurprisingly, are at increased risk of psychosocial distress compared with older breast cancer survivors. Decision-support tools, and innovative, acceptable, scalable interventions to address anxiety and distress are under investigation. Finally, given that most young women will live for many decades after a diagnosis of breast cancer, it is imperative that we follow this population, in particular, over time and study their long-term, late effects in survivorship. Citation Format: Partridge A. Breast Cancer in Young Women: Understanding Differences to Improve Outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OI.