Previous studies have shown that younger breast cancer patients consistently have poorer outcomes than patients who develop the disease later in life, which can translate into lower rates of overall survival. While the reason for this is not known, it is suggested that breast cancer in younger patients is more biologically aggressive.
Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston sought to determine which form of breast cancer treatment – breast-conserving therapy, mastectomy alone or mastectomy with adjuvant radiation – better benefits younger women with either Stage I or Stage II breast cancer.