Breast cancer in very young Pakistani women at a cancer hospital in Lahore

Abstract

11596 Background: Young breast cancer patients reported to have more advanced disease presenting with larger tumor size, more lymph node involvement and higher local recurrence rates. We studied the tumor characteristics, treatment given, relapse rate in breast cancer patients of our institution. Methods: Between 1994 and 2002, 2,322 breast cancer patients were registered at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Lahore (Pakistan). Their records were reviewed from a retrospectively collected database. Patients were divided into two groups: those ≤35 years and those >35 years. Tumor characteristics measured were size, lymph node status and stage (TNM staging). Treatment given was also reviewed. Outcome measures included local and distant disease relapse. Results: At presentation, 1,883 breast cancer women were above 35 years of age while very young patients were 439 patients. Distribution of patient having tumor size ≤2cm (24% vs. 25%), node negative disease (30% vs. 32.0%) and stage I tumor (8% vs. 9%) were similar in both younger and older groups. Younger women underwent more lumpectomies (51% vs. 39%) while mastectomies were performed more frequently in older women (60.91% vs. 47.60%). Most patients younger than 35 years were treated with standard chemotherapy (91% vs. 81%) and radiation therapy (66% vs. 58%). Among 2,322 patients, 893 were lost to follow up. Both young and old patients had similar local relapse (20.55% vs. 17.08%) and recurrence with distant metastasis (20.14% vs. 17.82%). Death was recorded in 175 patients (19.3% young; 12.08% old). The survival distributions were not found to be significantly different between the age groups. Conclusions: In contrast to most studies, our hospital data shows no significant difference in baseline tumor characteristics, local disease relapse and distant metastasis in both younger and older breast cancer patients. Among our young and the older breast cancer patients treated, outcome measures were also similar in both groups of women. No significant financial relationships to disclose.