Local Breast Cancer Recurrence Rate in Young Women Post-Mastectomy

Objective To analyze the recurrence rate in young females following mastectomy to tailor further treatment and surveillance approaches. Methods This is a retrospective study that collected data from young, female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2010 and August 2018, had an age-at-diagnosis of 18–45 years old, and underwent unilateral or bilateral mastectomy, with or without reconstruction. Results A total of 114 patients underwent mastectomy, with 71.9% of patients undergoing bilateral mastectomy. The mean age-at-diagnosis was 37.0 years. The most common genetic mutation was BRCA at 16.2% incidence. Of all breast tumors, 77.2% were ER-positive, 67.5% PR-positive, and 31.6% HER2-positive. At the end of the five-year cutoff, 17.5% of patients had disease recurrence, of which 25.0% had locoregional recurrence. Conclusion Our study showed a similar locoregional recurrence rate in young women after mastectomy as compared to the national data in women of all ages. Additionally, carriers of pathogenic BRCA mutations experienced significantly lower recurrence free survival with a higher rate of distant relapse.