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Review
. 2015 Jul;21(3):553-61.
doi: 10.1007/s12253-015-9944-5. Epub 2015 May 12.

Om.breast cancer in very young women aged 25 year-old or below in the center of Tunisia and review of the literature

Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim  1 , Khadija Fathallah, Rim Rouatbi, Malak Ayachi, Sihem Hmissa, Moncef Mokni
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Om.breast cancer in very young women aged 25 year-old or below in the center of Tunisia and review of the literature

Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim et al. Pathol Oncol Res. 2015 Jul.
Free article

Abstract

Breast cancer in very young women under 40 or 35 years attracted a widespread attention. Few studies have focused on women aged below 25 years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the situation of breast cancer in women ≤25 years in the center of Tunisia. Retrospective review from 1993 to 2013. Clinical, histopathological, therapeutic and outcome data were recorded. Cases were classified into different molecular subtypes based on the immunohistochemistry-based definitions. The series included 25 patients. The mean duration of symptoms was 7.5 months. The most common presenting symptom was a palpable mass. Four patients had at least one relative diagnosed with breast cancer. Mammography combined with ultrasound was suggestive of malignancy in 60 % of cases. Curative surgical treatment could be offered in 19 cases. The mean tumor size was 39 mm. Nodal metastases were detected in 9/18 cases. Twenty cases could be classified into: luminal A (5 cases), luminal B (6 cases), Her-2 (1 case), triple negative (6 cases) and unclassified (2 cases). Two women experienced locoregional recurrence and 6 had distant recurrence. Asynchronous contralateral breast cancer occurred in one case. The overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 85 and 75 % respectively. The survival was significantly lower in grade III tumors (p = 0.04) and triple negative tumors (p = 0.03). Breast cancer in women ≤25 years is uncommon. An adequate medical education of young women and physicians is necessary.

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