Breast cancer in women 35 years old or younger: clinical and mammographic features

The purpose of our work was to describe the clinical and mammographic patterns of breast cancer in women aged 35 years old or less. From 1980 to 1985, 92 women 35 years old or younger were treated in our institution for breast cancer. Their mammograms were reviewed to determine the breast density and to describe the mammographic lesion. The clinical examination found a palpable breast mass (n = 84), nipple discharge (n = 2), axillary lymph node involvement (n = 3), metastasis (n = 1) or was normal (n = 2). The mammograms exhibited dense (n = 59), mixed dense/fatty (n = 29) or fatty (n = 4) parenchymal breast. The mammograms showed opacity with well-defined (n = 13) or ill-defined borders (n = 34), spiculated opacity (n = 11), architectural distortion (n = 9), isolated clusters of microcalcifications (n = 13) or were normal (n = 18). The diagnosis of breast cancer in young womensis difficult, because mammographic accuracy is less reliable and benign disease is far more prevalent.