Clinical-epidemiological characterization of patients under or equal to 40 years old with breast cancer

Abstract

Introduction. Breast cancer is among the first three cancers diagnosed in women worldwide. In women younger than 40 years old it occupies the first place in incidence. About 146 000 new cases are diagnosed globally in women under 40 years old. Objective. To identify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients under or equal to 40 years old diagnosed with breast cancer in a tertiary hospital specialized in women's care. Methodology. Descriptive cross-sectional study. Information was collected from 60 clinical records of patients diagnosed with breast cancer with an age less than or equal to 40 years old between January 2019 and December 2020. Results. The highest number of cases was found in women between 39 and 40 years old (18.3 %, each). Sixty percent were from the urban area; 80 % of the patients had parity between one and four children; 40 % were overweight and 58 % had no family history of breast cancer. The most frequent clinical stage was IIIA. The most common histopathological diagnosis was invasive breast carcinoma of non-special type (91.6 %), poorly differentiated, with positive estrogen and progesterone receptors. Conclusion. Women aged less than or equal to 40 years old, with breast cancer, are patients from urban areas, overweight, with one to four children and no family history of breast cancer, with initial clinical presentation in locally advanced stages, with a diagnosis of invasive breast carcinoma of non-special type, poorly differentiated and positive estrogen and progesterone receptors.