Age Is An Independent Predictor For Breast Cancer Survival

Scientists and physicians are aware of the fact that young woman with breast cancer have a rather poor outcome. It was thought that this is because young woman are commonly diagnosed at a later stage of breast cancer with more advanced disease compared to older women. But now a study shows that youth on its own was a factor for poor prognosis.

Scientists reached this conclusion by analyzing data from 45,000 women with breast cancer. All women with early stage breast cancer (stage 1) were included in the study and the various age groups were compared. The results were surprising and indicated that being young was an independent indicator of poor survival - regardless of other factors known to be predictive of outcomes in older women such as tumor size, location, hormone receptor status, race, or therapy.

In fact the odds of dying from breast cancer rather than any other disease increased by 5% for every year of a women's age fewer than 45 when diagnosed. For example, a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35 was 50% more likely to die of the disease. The 10-year overall survival probability of a 30-year old patient (85%) was equal to that of a 60-year old, indicating a considerably reduced life expectancy in young patients.

S. Aebi, leading author of the study comments, "These findings suggest that age in young women, more than any other factor affects the chances of survival. It is very important now to carry on more research and analyze what makes the tumors in young women different - what causes these women to die."