Symptomatic breast cancer diagnosis and multimodal management in women aged 40 to 50 years; consequences of current mammographic screening programs

Introduction: Consensus exists that screening mammography is appropriate for women aged 50 to 69 years. However, the effectiveness of such screening for women aged 40 to 50 years is still questioned. The aim of our study was to analyze breast cancer management in the 40- to 50-year age group. We also wished to determine the proportion of patients with a significant family history and whether this was associated with more advanced disease.

Patients and methods: All female patients with primary breast cancer diagnosed between 40 and 50 years of age were included over a 4-year period. The database of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute was interrogated, and a chart and radiology review carried out to obtain relevant details of clinical presentation, family history, radiological findings, and treatments undertaken.

Results: Three hundred thirty-four patients were diagnosed in this cohort during the study period. Twenty-two percent of those diagnosed had a family history of breast cancer with 1.8% having a genetically confirmed predisposition to breast cancer. A significant proportion of patients presented with advanced disease, with 50% of patients having nodal involvement and 3% who presented with distant metastases. The overall rate of mastectomy was 47%, with minimal variation between the surgeons who performed the surgeries. More than half of the patients in our analysis underwent axillary clearance (51%).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that a large proportion of patients in the 40- to 50-year age group presented with advanced disease and required aggressive surgical and adjuvant treatment. The presence of a family history did not identify a subgroup with more advanced disease at presentation.