Advanced Breast Cancer in Young Women

A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the incidence of advanced breast cancer in women under 40 years old had nearly doubled from 1.53 per 100,000 in 1976 to 2.90 per 100,000 in 2009. However, experts like Peter Ravdin and Donald Berry questioned the significance of these findings, suggesting that the increase could be due to better diagnostic imaging or the result of looking through a large amount of data to find unusual patterns. The study, which analyzed data from the National Cancer Institute's SEER database, indicated that the increase was particularly notable in hormone-sensitive cancers and did not occur in older age groups or less-advanced disease in the under-40 group. Despite the increase, the absolute numbers remained small, with about 850 cases diagnosed in 2013 compared to 250 in 1976. The authors of the study, including Rebecca Johnson, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27, emphasized the importance of women reporting any breast changes to a physician. The study's findings were considered preliminary and required validation in other databases, with further research needed to explore potential underlying factors such as environmental or lifestyle influences.