Carcinoma of the breast in women less than thirty years old

135 cases of carcinoma of the breast in women under 30 years (4 were 22 years or younger) were on file at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington D.C. The gross characteristics of the carcinomas were the same as those in older women with the same types of cancer. The percentages of patients with and without axillary metastasis still well at last contact were 25% and 66%. The proportions of surviving patients with the 3 main types of tumors were infiltrating duct (70%) medullary (50%) and intraductal (11%). The prognosis was worse with larger tumor sizes. 61% 75% and 36% of patients with upper outer quadrant lesions lower outer quadrant lesions and inner quadrant or subareolar tumors were well at last contact. Only 4 (29%) of the 14 patients pregnant at tumor diagnosis were living and free of neoplasms at last contact. 10 diagnoses were at 5 months postpartum and 1 patient at diagnosis was 18 months postpartum but breast feeding. 54% of these 11 women were living and well at last contact. No relationship was found within the age limits of the study between age of patient and survival. Favorable factors influencing survival in women under 30 are the relative high proportion of favorable-type tumors and the relative rarity of deaths from unrelated causes. Unfavorable factors include the frequent association of the tumor with pregnancy or lactation a high incidence of axillary metastasis unusually poor survival in patients with 1 or 2 involved axillary lymph nodes and a high incidence of carcinoma of the opposite breast. Women under 30 appear to have a slightly poorer prognosis than do older women. Women taking oral contraceptives among the breast cancer patients were underrepresented (4-5 expected in 47 women from 1960-1964 1 found).