In 1985, the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical company Imperial Chemical Industries created thePink October, a global breast cancer awareness campaign. Since then, the pink ribbon, the emblem of this program, serves as an annual reminder of the importance of early detection and the need for funding for research.
The most common and deadliest cancer in women
The most common and deadliest cancer among women, the campaigns of breast cancer screening These programs primarily target women over 50 and those at risk (family history, mutations in certain genes such as BRCA1/2 and PALB2). The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends mammograms every two years for women starting at age 50, or even from age 40 if they are at risk. For women under 50 who are not at risk, frequent clinical examinations are still advised.
However, the characterization of at-risk populations is now being questioned, due to the significant increase in cases among young women.
A lack of data among young women
This increase in cases among young women has been observed for several years by gynecologists, radiologists, and general practitioners worldwide. However, little data allows for a precise analysis of the prevalence of these cancers according to patient age groups, lifestyle, and the pathological characteristics of the tumors.
Dr. Stamatia Destounis, a radiologist specializing in breast imaging and associate director at the Elizabeth Wende Breast Care Clinic in Rochester (EWBC) (USA), examined data collected from seven outpatient clinics in New York State. In collaboration with her colleague Andrea Arieno, head of research at EWBC, she compiled a list of all breast cancers diagnosed between 2014 and 2024 at these medical centers, along with their associated clinical imaging reports.
“ We have gathered precise information on how the cancer was detected — by mammography or clinical diagnosis — its type as well as other tumor characteristics. explains Dr. Stamatia Destounis to Sciences et Avenir. We excluded cases that were not primary breast cancers and grouped the patients by age subgroups, detection method, and tumor biology. This allowed us to identify how breast cancer manifests in this patient population, its frequency of occurrence, and the types of tumors encountered. the doctor continued.
"20 to 24 of the diagnoses concern women aged 18 to 49 years"
The results of this study were presented at the annual congress of the Radiological Society of North America. The analysis of these 11 years of data identifies 1,799 cases of breast cancer in women aged 18 to 49, representing between 20 and 24% of all cases diagnosed in these establishments.
Among these cancers detected in those under 50, 41 % were spotted through routine mammography, while 59 % were spotted during diagnostic examinations carried out at the request of patients who had themselves detected symptoms such as redness or lumps in the breast.
“ The number is therefore not an exact reflection of the incidence of breast cancer, but it shows that women under 50 should not be considered automatically as being at low risk. Dr. Destounis remarks. Indeed, among these diagnoses of young women, 791 TP3T had no family history of breast cancer and 241 TP3T were women under 40 years of age..
Particularly invasive cancers
Then, by examining the tumor characteristics of these diagnoses more closely, Dr. Destounis and his team discovered that more than 80% of the cancers detected in women under 50 were invasive, meaning they could spread beyond the breast, and 8.6% were triple-negative breast cancers, a form that is more difficult to treat because it does not respond to conventional hormone therapies. By dividing the 18-40 and 40-50 age groups into subgroups, they were able to show that the tumors in 18-40 year olds were of a higher grade (spreading faster) than those in 40-50 year olds (86% versus 74% of triple-negative tumors) and were more resistant to disease (13% versus 8% of triple-negative tumors).
“ This finding is striking because it demonstrates that younger women are subject to a stable and significant proportion of breast cancer cases, but also that their tumors are often biologically aggressive“ , the radiologist explains. This combination of consistent incidence and high biological aggressiveness directly challenges age-based screening thresholds and argues for earlier screening tailored to risk factors..
Distortion observed on the mammogram of a 40-year-old patient. Credits: Dr. Stamatia Destounis, 2025.
How can this trend be explained?
“ Of course, these high figures are explained by an increase in diagnoses and greater public awareness. The increased incidence among young women, however, is probably due to a mix of factors: hormones, genetics, diet, alcohol consumption, etc. Dr. Destounis lists them.
One final recommendation: Discuss it with your family, learn about your family history; you may not be aware of some of your risk factors. Examine yourself and consult a healthcare professional if you have any doubts. "!", the doctor concluded.
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