Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in Young Women

  • Chapter
Breast Cancer, Fertility Preservation and Reproduction

Abstract

Breast cancer in young women is not a rare condition. Considering the US population, about 7 % of all cases are diagnosed before the age of 40, 2.4 % are diagnosed before age 35, and 1 % diagnosed before age 30. Breast cancer in young women has specific characteristics. In particular it has an aggressive course of clinical presentation, a higher rate of germline mutation in BRCA 1&2, distinct estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, and over-expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Further, they are partially different also in the epidemiological profile. In this chapter, we reviewed the epidemiology of breast cancer among women aged 40 years or less.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Tichy JR, Lim E, Anders CK. Breast cancer in adolescents and young adults: a review with a focus on biology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2013;11:1060–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Malone KE, Daling JR, Neal C, Suter NM, O’Brien C, Cushing-Haugen K, Jonasdottir TJ, Thompson JD, Ostrander EA. Frequency of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations in a population-based sample of young breast carcinoma cases. Cancer. 2000;88:1393–402.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bleyer A, Barr R, Hayes-Lattin B, Thomas D, Ellis C, Anderson B. The distinctive biology of cancer in adolescents and young adults. Nat Rev Cancer. 2008;8:288–98.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Gabriel CA, Domchek SM. Breast cancer in young women. Breast Cancer Res. 2010;12:212.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. AIRT Working Group. Italian cancer figures–report 2006: 1. Incidence, mortality and estimates. Epidemiol Prev. 30;2006:8–10, 12–28, 30–101 passim.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Anders CK, Fan C, Parker JS, Carey LA, Blackwell KL, Klauber-DeMore N, Perou CM. Breast carcinomas arising at a young age: unique biology or a surrogate for aggressive intrinsic subtypes? J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:e18–20.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Brinton LA, Sherman ME, Carreon JD, Anderson WF. Recent trends in breast cancer among younger women in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008;100:1643–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Pradhananga KK, Baral M, Shrestha BM. Multi-institution hospital-based cancer incidence data for Nepal: an initial report. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2009;10:259–62.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Afsharfard A, Mozaffar M, Orang E, Tahmasbpour E. Trends in epidemiology, clinical and histopathological characteristics of breast cancer in Iran: results of a 17 year study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14:6905–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Colonna M, Delafosse P, Uhry Z, Poncet F, Arveux P, Molinie F, Cherie-Challine L, Grosclaude P. Is breast cancer incidence increasing among young women? An analysis of the trend in France for the period 1983–2002. Breast. 2008;17:289–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Leclere B, Molinie F, Tretarre B, Stracci F, Daubisse-Marliac L, Colonna M. Trends in incidence of breast cancer among women under 40 in seven European countries: a GRELL cooperative study. Cancer Epidemiol. 2013;37:544–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Cardoso F, Loibl S, Pagani O, Graziottin A, Panizza P, Martincich L, Gentilini O, Peccatori F, Fourquet A, Delaloge S, Marotti L, Penault-Llorca F, Kotti-Kitromilidou AM, Rodger A, Harbeck N. The European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists recommendations for the management of young women with breast cancer. Eur J Cancer. 2012;48:3355–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Keramatinia A, Mousavi-Jarrahi SH, Hiteh M, Mosavi-Jarrahi A. Trends in incidence of breast cancer among women under 40 in Asia. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2014;15:1387–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Freitas Jr R, Freitas NM, Curado MP, Martins E, Silva CM, Rahal RM, Queiroz GS. Incidence trend for breast cancer among young women in Goiania, Brazil. Sao Paulo Med J. 2010;128:81–4.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Mousavi-Jarrrahi SH, Kasaeian A, Mansori K, Ranjbaran M, Khodadost M, Mosavi-Jarrahi A. Addressing the younger age at onset in breast cancer patients in Asia: an age-period-cohort analysis of fifty years of quality data from the international agency for research on cancer. ISRN Oncol. 2013;2013:429862.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bharat A, Aft RL, Gao F, Margenthaler JA. Patient and tumor characteristics associated with increased mortality in young women (< or =40 years) with breast cancer. J Surg Oncol. 2009;100:248–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Gajdos C, Tartter PI, Bleiweiss IJ, Bodian C, Brower ST. Stage 0 to stage III breast cancer in young women. J Am Coll Surg. 2000;190:523–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Friedman LC, Kalidas M, Elledge R, Dulay MF, Romero C, Chang J, Liscum KR. Medical and psychosocial predictors of delay in seeking medical consultation for breast symptoms in women in a public sector setting. J Behav Med. 2006;29:327–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Thapa B, Singh Y, Sayami P, Shrestha UK, Sapkota R, Sayami G. Breast cancer in young women from a low risk population in Nepal. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14:5095–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Anders CK, Hsu DS, Broadwater G, Acharya CR, Foekens JA, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Marcom PK, Marks JR, Febbo PG, Nevins JR, Potti A, Blackwell KL. Young age at diagnosis correlates with worse prognosis and defines a subset of breast cancers with shared patterns of gene expression. J Clin Oncol. 2008;26:3324–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Reyna C, Lee MC. Breast cancer in young women: special considerations in multidisciplinary care. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2014;7:419–29.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Lakhani SR, Van De Vijver MJ, Jacquemier J, Anderson TJ, Osin PP, McGuffog L, Easton DF. The pathology of familial breast cancer: predictive value of immunohistochemical markers estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER-2, and p53 in patients with mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. J Clin Oncol. 2002;20:2310–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Kleihues P, Schauble B, Hausen A, Esteve J, Ohgaki H. Tumors associated with p53 germline mutations: a synopsis of 91 families. Am J Pathol. 1997;150:1–13.

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. He X, Arrotta N, Radhakrishnan D, Wang Y, Romigh T, Eng C. Cowden syndrome-related mutations in PTEN associate with enhanced proteasome activity. Cancer Res. 2013;73:3029–40.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Anders CK, Johnson R, Litton J, Phillips M, Bleyer A. Breast cancer before age 40 years. Semin Oncol. 2009;36:237–49.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Daling JR, Malone KE, Voigt LF, White E, Weiss NS. Risk of breast cancer among young women: relationship to induced abortion. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1994;86:1584–92.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. DeSantis C, Howlader N, Cronin KA, Jemal A. Breast cancer incidence rates in U.S. women are no longer declining. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011;20:733–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. DeSantis C, Ma J, Bryan L, Jemal A. Breast cancer statistics, 2013. CA Cancer J Clin. 2014;64:52–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Althuis MD, Brogan DD, Coates RJ, Daling JR, Gammon MD, Malone KE, Schoenberg JB, Brinton LA. Breast cancers among very young premenopausal women (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 2003;14:151–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Hartman M, Czene K, Reilly M, Bergh J, Lagiou P, Trichopoulos D, Adami HO, Hall P. Genetic implications of bilateral breast cancer: a population based cohort study. Lancet Oncol. 2005;6:377–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Lee KD, Chen SC, Chan CH, Lu CH, Chen CC, Lin JT, Chen MF, Huang SH, Yeh CM, Chen MC. Increased risk for second primary malignancies in women with breast cancer diagnosed at young age: a population-based study in Taiwan. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008;17:2647–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Kollias J, Ellis IO, Elston CW, Blamey RW. Clinical and histological predictors of contralateral breast cancer. Eur J Surg Oncol. 1999;25:584–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Kwan ML, Kushi LH, Weltzien E, Maring B, Kutner SE, Fulton RS, Lee MM, Ambrosone CB, Caan BJ. Epidemiology of breast cancer subtypes in two prospective cohort studies of breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res. 2009;11:R31.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Pathy NB, Yip CH, Taib NA, Hartman M, Saxena N, Iau P, Bulgiba AM, Lee SC, Lim SE, Wong JE, Verkooijen HM. Breast cancer in a multi-ethnic Asian setting: results from the Singapore-Malaysia hospital-based breast cancer registry. Breast. 2011;20 Suppl 2:S75–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Butt Z, Haider SF, Arif S, Khan MR, Ashfaq U, Shahbaz U, Bukhari MH. Breast cancer risk factors: a comparison between pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. J Pak Med Assoc. 2012;62:120–4.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Sandhu DS, Sandhu S, Karwasra RK, Marwah S. Profile of breast cancer patients at a tertiary care hospital in north India. Indian J Cancer. 2010;47:16–22.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Silvera SA, Jain M, Howe GR, Miller AB, Rohan TE. Energy balance and breast cancer risk: a prospective cohort study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2006;97:97–106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Macfarlane GJ, Lowenfels AB. Physical activity and colon cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev. 1994;3:393–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Slattery ML, Edwards S, Murtaugh MA, Sweeney C, Herrick J, Byers T, Giuliano AR, Baumgartner KB. Physical activity and breast cancer risk among women in the southwestern United States. Ann Epidemiol. 2007;17:342–53.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Do MH, Lee SS, Kim JY, Jung PJ, Lee MH. Fruits, vegetables, soy foods and breast cancer in pre- and postmenopausal Korean women: a case–control study. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2007;77:130–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Abbas S, Linseisen J, Chang-Claude J. Dietary vitamin D and calcium intake and premenopausal breast cancer risk in a German case–control study. Nutr Cancer. 2007;59:54–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Braverman AS. Evidence that high calcium and vitamin D intake decrease the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women: implications for breast cancer prevention and screening. South Med J. 2007;100:1061–2.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Lin J, Manson JE, Lee IM, Cook NR, Buring JE, Zhang SM. Intakes of calcium and vitamin D and breast cancer risk in women. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1050–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Berube S, Diorio C, Masse B, Hebert-Croteau N, Byrne C, Cote G, Pollak M, Yaffe M, Brisson J. Vitamin D and calcium intakes from food or supplements and mammographic breast density. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14:1653–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità, Dipartimento Materno Infantile, IRCCS Policlinico, Università di Milano, Via Commenda 12, 20122, Milan, Italy

    Fabio Parazzini, Antonella Villa, Giampiero Polverino, Stefania Noli & Giovanna Scarfone

Authors
  1. Fabio Parazzini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonella Villa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Giampiero Polverino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stefania Noli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Giovanna Scarfone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabio Parazzini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Torino School of Medicine, Mauriziano Umberto I Hospital, Torino, Italy

    Nicoletta Biglia

  2. Fertility and Procreation Unit, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, Milano, Italy

    Fedro Alessandro Peccatori

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Parazzini, F., Villa, A., Polverino, G., Noli, S., Scarfone, G. (2015). Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in Young Women. In: Biglia, N., Peccatori, F. (eds) Breast Cancer, Fertility Preservation and Reproduction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17278-1_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17278-1_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17277-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17278-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation