The prognosis of breast cancer in very young women is generally considered to be unfavorable. In addition, younger patients (<35 years) with estrogen- receptor (ER) positive tumor had shown a significantly worse diseasefree survival than younger patients with ER negative tumors. To confirm the prognostic effects of ER on the survival in very young Korean women with early breast cancer, we performed a retrospective study with survival analyses according to the expression of hormonal receptors.

Total 74 very young women with early breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma, NOS, ≤35 years, and stage <III) were divided into 2 groups according to the expression of hormonal receptors. Survival analyses were performed with a review of the medical records and phone survey.

The distribution of stage in receptor (+) group (n=52) was stage I 19.2%, stage IIA 46.2%, stage IIB 34.6%, and in receptor (-) group (n=22) 31.8%, 36.4%, 31.8% respectively. Median follow-up period was 76.57 months, 72.93 months in receptor (+) and (-) groups, respectively. 10-year disease-free survival rates were 70.4%, 68.2% (Log rank test, P=0.93) and 10-year overall survival rates were 80.59%, 85.71% (Log rank test, P=0.22) in receptor (+) and (-) group, respectively.

Even though the results were not statistically significant, the overall survival of receptor positive group was inferior to that of receptor negative group among the very young premenopausal women with early breast cancer. For the confirmation of the results and better treatment for very young women, a large, prospective case-control study is needed.