BENGALURU: There is a steady rise in the incidence of breast cancer among women under 35 years of age in India, say experts, attributed to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Medical fraternity across the country has launched a campaign to create awareness about the deadly disease as part of Breast Cancer Awareness celebrated every October. Dr Neeti Raizada, Director – Medical Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Fortis Group of Hospitals, Bangalore told IANS that as per Globocan 2020 data, a total of 1.78 lakh women in India are diagnosed with breast cancer annually since Globocan 2020. “However, unlike in the West, where cancer is seen more often in women over the age of 55, our country also has women aged 35 to 50, who are the most prevalent age group with breast cancer.”
Dr Vipin Goel, Senior Consultant and Laparoscopic Surgeon, Surgical Oncology, CARE Hospitals Group, explained that women who develop breast cancer at a much younger age than others are due to these genes. On the other hand, a significant cause of breast cancer is a sedentary lifestyle, mainly lack of exercise and poor diet (obesity).
Underlining that breast cancer is preventable, she said that the primary measure is to remove the risk factors by improving lifestyle. This includes getting enough physical exercise, abstaining from smoking and drinking, and a balanced diet.
A few years back, cervical cancer was the number one cancer in the female population in India. This was due to poor hygiene and the human papillomavirus. Cervical cancer cases are decreasing. Now, breast cancer has replaced cervical cancer as the number one cancer among women in India.
“There is a showing an increasing trend in the incidence of breast cancer among young people. Ten years ago, we saw one to three cases in 100 breast cancer cases under the age of 35. We now see one in 100 cases of under-age There are about eight to ten cases in the age group of 35 years,” Dr. Goyal said.
He further explained that the reason for the increase can be both hereditary and non-hereditary. Around 10-20 percent of breast cancer cases in the world are hereditary because people have the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
The second measure to prevent ‘breast cancer’ is going for screening and testing. A mammogram is one of the easiest tests to detect lumps in the breasts. Screening once a year is recommended after the age of 40. That said, if the cancer is caught at an early stage as stage I, the chances of survival and recovery are about 95 percent, he explained.
Addressing these issues is critical to effectively treating young women with life-threatening diseases. Although breast cancer is a risk for all women, certain factors can increase the chance that a woman will get the disease before the age of 45. The first step in determining your risk is to determine which factors increase your chances of developing breast cancer. “Knowing the symptoms of breast cancer can also help you determine when to consult a doctor,” he outlines.
On a similar note, Dr Amit Routhan, HOD and Consultant – Medical Oncology, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road, said that the increasing incidence of breast cancer among young women is because they are in their prime and busy both on the work and domestic front. While some are young unmarried women, some have young children, and others have families to take care of. He said his diagnosis affects him and his family life significantly.
Although the exact cause is not known, it is probably a mix of environmental, diet and lifestyle factors. Dr. Routhan said that about 15 percent of young women have hereditary breast cancer. They explained that the biology of breast cancer in younger women is more aggressive, and they have a higher stage at diagnosis, and a higher incidence of the aggressive triple-negative subtype.
Management of breast cancer requires a multimodal approach, using surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy. They say that the specific issues that need to be considered in young women are those related to fertility, marriage, gender, nursing and long-term effects.
“Special consideration is needed because fertility preservation must be planned during the course of their treatment. Chemotherapy is known to affect fertility, and therefore special techniques are used for fertility preservation. The first may be in the form of embryo or ovary cryopreservation, or in the form of special hormonal injections given during chemotherapy to preserve ovarian function. During surgery, the emphasis is on breast preservation surgery, which is not only in the universe improves, but also gives a lot of psychological benefits for women,” explained Dr. Routhan. Better understanding of breast cancer biology in young women is leading to better outcomes with a better quality of life. He added that the integration of new modalities such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy is also paving the way for better long-term survival.
Dr Neeti Raizada explains that there may also be some hereditary factors related to breast cancer at puberty, and triple-negative and HER2-positive breast cancers are more often found in younger women. Additionally, these variants are a very aggressive variety that require more intensive monitoring and treatment. She added that these women also have fertility issues as most of them either want to complete their families or are undergoing IVF treatment.
Addressing these issues is critical to effectively treating young women with breast cancer. Although breast cancer is a risk for all women, certain factors can increase the chance that a woman will get the disease before the age of 45, according to Dr. Raizada. “Knowing the symptoms of breast cancer can also help determine when to consult a doctor,” she said.
(Disclaimer: This story has been published from a syndicated feed.)