Botteri E et al. – The current study assessed how the prognosis of breast cancer has evolved in young women treated with breast–conserving surgery (BCS). In conclusion, over the past 2 decades, a significant improvement in local control and overall prognosis has been observed in young women (aged <40 years) with breast cancer who underwent BCS.

Methods

• Data from patients aged below 40 years who had BCS and whole–breast radiotherapy between 1997 and 2010 were analyzed and followed up until 2016.
• Local recurrence, any breast cancer–related event, and death due to any cause were some of the study end points.

Results

• Of the 1331 patients included in the study, 114 had local recurrences, 289 had breast cancer–related events, and 138 died after a median follow–up of 9.3 years.
• Based on tertiles of the date of diagnosis, women were divided into 3 groups: 1997–2002 (524 patients), 2003–2005 (350 patients), and 2006–2010 (457 patients). The risk of local recurrence was 1.42, 0.85, and 0.48 per 100 person–years in women diagnosed in the first, second, and third intervals, respectively (P for trend = .028).
• Similarly, the risk of breast cancer–related events was 3.01, 2.52, and 2.07 per 100 person–years, respectively (P = .004), and the risk of death was 1.59, 1.22, and 0.64 per 100 person–years, respectively (P = .003), for women diagnosed in the first, second, and third intervals.
• With every passing year, the study showed a decrease in the risk of local re–occurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87–1.00), any breast cancer–related event (HR 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.98), and death (HR 0.89, 95% CI: 0.83–0.94).