The impact of young age on locoregional recurrence after doxorubicin-based breast conservation therapy in patients 40 years old or younger: How young is "young"?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients <35 years old have similar risk of locoregional recurrence after breast conservation therapy compared with patients 35 to 40 years old.

Methods And Materials: We retrospectively reviewed records of 196 consecutive patients < or =40 years old who received breast conservation therapy (BCT) from 1987 to 2000 for breast cancer and compared outcomes between patients <35 years old with patients 35 to 40 years old. The majority of patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy as part of their treatment. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess risk factors for locoregional recurrence.

Results: After a median follow-up of 64 months, 22 locoregional recurrences (LRR) were observed. Twenty patients developed locoregional recurrence as their first site of relapse. Two patients had bone-only metastases before their locoregional recurrence. On multivariate analysis, age <35 years was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of locoregional recurrence. The 5-year rate of locoregional control was 87.9% in patients <35 years old compared with 91.7% in patients 35 to 40 years old (p = 0.042).

Conclusions: Our finding supports an increased risk of locoregional recurrence as a function of younger age after breast conservation therapy, even among young patients 40 years old and younger.