TITLE:
Histo-Phenotypic Aspects of Breast Cancer in Women under 40 Years Old, in Yaoundé
AUTHORS:
Um Esther Meka Ngo, Zambo Zambo, Coralie Mendouga Menye, Kodoumé Motolouze, Matene Mengue, Obalemba Etienne Atenguena
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Young Women, Yaoundé
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.14 No.3,
March
29,
2024
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common
cancer in women worldwide, with an increasing incidence. Although it is rare
and no much studied in young women, it represents 7% of cases worldwide and
often appears more aggressive with a poor prognosis compared to its counterpart
in older women. The main objective of our study was to describe the
histological and phenotypic aspects of breast cancer in women of age under 40. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive and analytical
cross-sectional study, with retrospective
collection of data over a period of 05 years. All women diagnosed with breast
cancer were included and divided into 2 study groups: under 40 years old and
over 40 years old. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 software, compared using the Chi square or Fisher
exact test. A p value Results: We
retained 196 files, either 89 for those under 40 and 107 for those over 40.
Young patients with breast cancer had a higher stage, grade and tumor size.
Lymph node involvement was more observed in women under 40 years (69.6% vs
53.2%). Older women were more likely to be hormone receptor positive (54.2% vs
38.2%); p = 0.018. HER-2 overexpression was higher in women younger than 40
years (39.32% vs 25.23%); p = 0.080 with a high Ki67 proliferation index (30.3%
versus 2.8%); p 0.001. Triple-negative and Her-2 tumors were much more frequent in young
women (48.3% vs. 36.4%; p = 0.063) and (17.97% vs. 10.3%; p = 0.125). Conclusion: Breast
cancer in young women remains more aggressive and is dominated by triple negative
and Her-2 phenotypes.