Study Highlights Increasing Cases of Breast Cancer in Younger Women

A study that involved an analysis of patient records in New York has discovered that breast cancer, and especially aggressive forms of this cancer, is occurring at a higher rate among younger women aged below 40. This group is currently regarded as low risk for breast cancer by the existing screening guidelines, and this calls for a review of those guidelines. 

The study analyzed data spanning 11 years taken from 2014 to the end of 2024. These outpatient records were taken from seven medical facilities that covered an area of approximately 200 miles in Western New York State. The team wanted to establish each breast cancer case identified during the outpatient visits to those facilities and track whether the cancers were identified after screening the patient or after a diagnostic procedure was undertaken. 

The data obtained was then categorized based on the tumor biology, the age group of the patient and how the cancer was confirmed. They left out data on patients who were found to have other cancers. 

The analysis revealed that each year, 145-196 breast cancer cases were found in women aged 18-49. On average, the age of most patients with these cancers was 42.6. Screening tests yielded 41% of these cancers (731 cases) while diagnostic tests uncovered 59% of the breast cancer cases (1,086 cases). Of the cancer cases found, 80.7 percent were invasive while 19.3 percent were categorized as non-invasive. 

Disturbingly, the researchers found that most of the cancer cases found in younger women could spread to other parts of the body (the invasive sub-group) and many could grow rapidly (aggressive subgroup). There was a notable fraction of “triple negative” cancer, a subgroup of breast cancer that is notorious for being unresponsive to the existing treatments indicated for breast cancer. 

The team noted that women under 50 years accounted for 25% of all new breast cancer cases found each year. This proportion is concerning because younger women face a significant breast cancer risk and the forms of this cancer that afflict them are disproportionately aggressive when compared to the caseload in older women. 

This discovery challenges the current age-based approach to screening for breast cancer. There is a need to conduct earlier screening and to tailor such screening to personalized risk factors rather than waiting for the women to reach the current age threshold before commencing screening. Factors like a family history of genetic mutations, existence of family members that were diagnosed with breast cancer and other such factors should prompt medical personnel to flag those that may be at higher risk even if they don’t fall within the conventional age bracket for undergoing regular screening. 

As cases of aggressive breast cancer increase in younger women, there is urgency for new therapy approaches that can address these invasive cancers. Firms like Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. (NYSE American: CLDI) are working as best they can to respond to this need, and any medications they commercialize against this and other cancers could help lots of patients around the world. 

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