Patients younger breast cancer treatment more difficult, and it tends to recur and metastasize. Consequently doctor to recommend such women tend to more extensive surgery, which removes the entire breast tissue (mastectomy). The following study shows that the choice of young female patients (age 40 years) lumpectomy instead of mastectomy for early forms of breast cancer is justified.
This study showed that patients younger than 40 years, who chose lumpectomy instead of mastectomy, have almost the same risk of recurrence, as patients older than 40 years, just underwent conserving surgery.
Five years after surgery, recurrence occurred in 9% of their cases. 10 years after surgery, this risk was already 18%. This means that 10 years after lumpectomy surgery more than 80% of women were no recurrence of breast cancer.
In addition, doctors recommend that young patients carrying a mastectomy due to the fact that they have a high risk of developing a new tumor in the same hardware, if it was not completely removed. The study showed that the risk of new breast cancer in these patients was only 7%.
While a lumpectomy may be a good treatment option for some young patients with early breast cancer, should consider two important points of this study:
Patients in this study suffered from breast cancer stage I or II. We can not say that the results of this study are suitable to stage III breast cancer, although some of the third stage of cancer can be treated in the early stages.
Regardless of the age of the patients, this study showed that lumpectomy is as effective as mastectomy, while if the lumpectomy combined with radiation therapy and often chemotherapy. Note that the radiation therapy and chemotherapy are used after the primary (operative) treatment is called adjuvant therapy.
So, despite their age, if you have breast cancer detected at an early stage, the decision to take the form of surgical treatment once you have with your doctor. In addition, regardless of the type of surgery, the doctor may further appoint radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Summary
To sum up, we can say that breast cancer in young patients is characterized by more severe, so that doctors often recommend radical surgery in such patients. However, this study shows that conserving surgery in young patients has the same effect as mastectomy.
