Abstract

There is one perception that the prognosis of breast carcinoma in young women, especially those less than 35 years of age is unfavorable. However the relationship of the age and progno- sis in breast carcinoma remains still controversiaL The authors have studied 56 patients treated for breast carcinoma who were 35 years of age or younger at the time of diagnosis in the Department of Surgery at Presbyterian Medical Center, Chonju Korea, from January l980 to December 1993. The following results were obtained; 1) Median age of 56 patients was 31 years and the peak incidence was 30-35 years, comprising of 75%(42 patients). 2) The major symptoms were painless mass(70%), nipple discharge(11%), local redness (5.8%) in order of frequency. 3) Considering the relationship between age and metastatic axillary lymph nodes, there was no significant differences between them. 4) The most common histopathologic type was invasive ductal carcinoma, comprising of 73.2 % in 56 patients and followed by intraductal carcinoma 12.5%(7 patients), colloid carcinoma 3.57 %(2 patients) in order of frequency. 5) The most common site of 56 breast carcinomas was right upper outer quadrant and there was no difference in the incidence between right and left. 6) The survival rate according to treatment modality in the same stage show that for stage I (Scases), the 5-year suvival rate was 90% in 5 cases receiving opereation and chcmotherapy, 100 % in 1 case receiving operation only and 100% in 1 case receiving operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For stage II(30cases), the 5-year survival rate was 78% in 18 cases receiving operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and 100% in 2 cases receiving operation and radiotherapy. For stage III (13 cases), the 5-year survival rate was 38% in 8 cases receiving operation and radiotherapy and 40% in 5 cases recceiving operation and chemotherapy. For stage IV (4 cases), all received operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and 5-year survival rate was 25%. 7) The 5-year determinate survivel rate according to the number of axillary node metastasis revealed that the lesser numbers of metastatic nades, the better survival rate(in case of no metastatic node, 88.8% vs. more than 4 metastatic nodes, 29.4%).

• Keywords: Breast carcinoma, Young women, 35 years of age, Younger