Breast cancer by age at diagnosis in the Gharbiah, Egypt, population-based registry compared to the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, 2004-2008.

OBJECTIVE

Although breast cancers (BCs) in young women often display more aggressive features, younger women are generally not screened for early detection. It is important to understand the characteristics of young onset breast cancer to increase awareness in this population. This analysis includes all ages, with emphasis placed on younger onset BC in Egypt as compared to the United States.

METHODS

BC cases in the Gharbiah cancer registry (GCR), Egypt, were compared to those in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. This analysis included 3,819 cases from the GCR and 273,019 from SEER diagnosed 2004-2008.

RESULTS

GCR cases were diagnosed at later stages, with <5% diagnosed at Stage I and 12% diagnosed at Stage IV. 48% of all SEER cases were diagnosed at Stage I, dropping to 30% among those ≤40. Significant differences in age, tumor grade, hormone receptor status, histology, and stage exist between GCR and SEER BCs. After adjustment, GCR cases were nearly 45 times more likely to be diagnosed at stage III and 16 times more likely to be diagnosed at stage IV than SEER cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should examine ways to increase literacy about early detection and prompt therapy in young cases.