Abstract PS7-64: Breast cancer in young women in a tertiary-level hospital in Guatemala

Abstract

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the frequent neoplasia in young women, which in developing countries is associated with more adverse outcomes. In Latin America, reports have shown an increased incidence of breast cancer in young women. No information exist regarding breast cancer characteristics in young Guatemalan women. We aimed to describe the clinical-pathological features among women aged 45 years or less treated in a tertiary-level hospital in Guatemala. Methods: We examined data from 119 women aged 45 years or less diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer at the Oncology Unit Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala between 2016 and 2020. Data were drawn from medical files on sociodemographic characteristics, histology, clinical stage, and breast cancer subtypes.Results: Of the total sample, breast cancer in women aged 45 years or less represented 31.2% of the cases. Of these, 24.36% is before 35 years, 28.57% between 35 to 39 years, and 47.05% between 39 to 45 years. Advanced clinical stages affected 66.6% of young women (48.33% for stages III and 18.33% stage IV). Data from specific breast cancer molecular subtype showed that 72.35% of cases in young women expressed an aggressive molecular subtype (Her-2 positive 27.06%, triple-negative 21.76%, and luminal/Her-2 positive 23.53%). Regarding treatment, most young patients received surgical treatment, as well as neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. Only 24.37% received hormonal and 26.89% radiation therapy. Conclusions: Our finding suggested that young women treated for breast cancer at a tertiary-level hospital in Guatemala had a high proportion of aggressive molecular subtypes and a high rate of locally advanced disease. This aggressive cancer behavior among young women is consistent with findings in other Latin American countries. Evidence examining risk factors for aggressive cancer in young women, such as delay in diagnosis and treatment timing, is warranted. Table 1. Distributions of socio-demographic and cancer-related characteristics variables% (SE)n = 119ETHNIC GROUPMayan Indigenous12.61 (3.05)No-Mayan Indigenous87.39 (3.05)HISTOLOGYDuctal96.64 (1.66)Lobular1.68 (1.18)Other1.68 (1.18)CLINICAL STAGE*I1.67 (1.17)II31.67 (4.26)III48.33 (4.58)IV18.33 (3.54)BREAST CANCER SUBTYPELuminal27.65 (4.76)Her2 positive27.06 (5.11)Triple-negative21.76 (5.05)Luminal/Her223.53 (6.61)TREATMENTSurgery55.46 (4.58)Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy82.35 (3.51)Adjuvant Chemotherapy47.06 (4.59)Radiotherapy26.89 (4.08)Hormonotherapy24.37 (3.95) Citation Format: Juan F Alvarado-Muñoz, Agatha Reyes-Morales, Alba J Kihn-Alarcón, Marco Chivalan, Silvana Torselli, Victor Puac-Polanco. Breast cancer in young women in a tertiary-level hospital in Guatemala [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS7-64.