[Breast cancer in Mexican women under 40]

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death from malignancy in women. The incidence increases with age, but the relationship between age and survival of breast cancer patients is not well defined. It is observed that young women with breast cancer have patterns more aggressive biological.

To determine the frequency, sociodemographic, clinical and histopathological features of breast cancer in women under 40 years attending a specialist breast unit in Mexico City.

Transversal, descriptive and retrospective study of patients under 40 years of age with breast cancer treated between 2005 and 2010.

1430 cases were diagnosed with breast cancer five years with a mean age of 53.64 +/- 11.87 years (range 23 to 93 years), 142 cases were women under 40 years of age (10%). The auto-detection of a breast lump was the most frequent clinical manifestation (50%).

The prevalence of clinical stage III in this age group suggests the difficulty of diagnosis, the high breast density, which is one factor limiting studies of screening with mammography, it diminishes their effectiveness in early detection of breast cancer.