[Breast cancer in young women in the south of Tunisia]. / Le cancer du sein de la femme jeune dans le sud tunisien.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this retrospective study was to discuss the epidemioclinical criteria, the therapeutic results and the prognostic factors of breast cancer in young women throughout a comparative study of 72 young patients aged less than 35 years and a second group of older premenopausal patients aged between 36 and 50 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the epidemioclinical records of all the patients. Non-metastatic and operable patients were treated with surgery (conservative or radical) followed by an adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy) indicated according to the prognostic factors. Locally advanced or metastatic tumors were treated with chemotherapy. Overall survival was calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. The comparison of survival curves was performed according to log-rank test. The multivariate analysis was performed according to the Cox model. RESULTS: The mean age was of 31.5 years. T2N1, node positive (N+), high grade (SBRII and III) and endocrine non-responsive tumors were the most frequent. There was no difference with the second group of older patients regarding the risk factors and the clinical criteria but mammography was more sensitive in the second group. The 5 years overall survival of young patients was of 57% and pejorative prognostic factors in univariate analysis were tumor size, N+ and endocrine non-responsiveness. There were not any significant prognostic factors at the multivariate analysis. Young age less than 35 years was not a prognostic factor influencing overall survival in the totality of patients or in the different sub-groups according to the other prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Clinical presentation and outcome of breast cancer in our young patients aged under 35 years seems not to be different from that in older patients. The conclusions of the different authors are controversial but the majority has reported more advanced tumors with worse prognostic than those of older patients.