Results:The mean age at diagnosis of primary breast cancer was 34 years. Only 11 patients (9.0%) had a family history of breast or ovarian cancer in first-degree relative. Ninety-two (92) patients sought medical attention after showing breast symptoms, and the presence of a palpable nodule was the main complaint. One hundred and twenty-two (122) primary tumors were diagnosed, of which 112 were invasive (95%). The most common histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma (73.8%). Luminal B was the predominant molecular subtype (42.6%). Ultrasonography was positive in 94.5% of the cases and the most common finding were nodules (94.8%). At mammography, the malignancy was observed in 92.8% and the presence of suggestive calcifications was the dominant feature. The MRI was positive in 98% of patients, and mass lesions were the most common. Conclusion: Most cases of breast cancer diagnosed in patients under the age of 40 years, in our population, had symptoms at diagnosis and tumor with more aggressive biological behavior. Despite the ultrasound has been the most widely used method, we found improved characterization of breast lesions when also used mammography and MRI.

The objective is to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in breast cancer patients aged less than 40 years. This retrospective, single-center study evaluated 92 women aged <40 years who received a diagnosis of invasive breast carcinoma between 2008 and 2012. These patients underwent a breast MRI before treatment and follow-up at the same institution. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze overall survival, with the log-rank test used to compare different groups. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) values. The mean age of the patients was 34 years (range: 25–39 years) and the mean tumor size was 3.9 cm in maximal dimension (range: 0.7–10.5 cm). Recurrence was observed in 21 (22.8%) patients and 15 (16.3%) patients did not survive during a mean follow-up period of 5.4 ± 1.9 years. MRI findings associated with worse overall survival included tumor size >5 cm (HR:5.404; 95% CI:1.922–15.198; p = 0.017), presence of non-mass enhancement (HR:3.730; 95% CI:1.274–10.922; p = 0.016) and multifocal tumor (HR:3.618; 95% CI:1.151–11.369; p = 0.028). Inconclusion, MRI findings that are suggestive of more extensive disease were associated with worse overall survival in young breast cancer patients.

Background: To evaluate the imaging findings in patients with breast cancer diagnosed before age 40 and their correlation with histological type and molecular subtype. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective, single-center study was conducted by reviewing imaging exams and medical records, after approval of the institution's Ethics Review Board. Among the 120 patients studied, 112 (93.3%) had mammography, 113 (94.2%) underwent ultrasonography and 105 (87.5%) underwent breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Histopathology data was performed in most cases after surgical resection, which was available for 113 patients (94.2%). Results: The mean age at diagnosis of primary breast cancer was 34 years. Most patients had no family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer (60.7%), and were symptomatic at diagnosis (75.6%). The most common histological type was no-special type (NST) invasive carcinoma (73.8%). Regarding the molecular subtype, luminal B was the most common (42.6%), followed by triple negative (20.2%). The malignant tumor was identified in 92.9% of patients who underwent mammography, 96.5% of patients submitted to ultrasound and 98% of those who performed MRI. MRI was superior to other methods in the evaluation of multifocal and multicentric lesions. There was no statistically significant association between imaging findings and molecular subtypes in the present study. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that imaging methods play a fundamental role in the characterization of cases of breast cancer diagnosed in patients younger than 40 years. Despite the ultrasound has been the most widely used method, we found improved characterization of breast lesions when also used mammography and MRI.