Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan 16150, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan 16150, Malaysia
  • 3 Breast Cancer Awareness & Research Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan 16150, Malaysia
  • 4 Human Genome Centre, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan 16150, Malaysia
Genes (Basel), 2021 03 05;12(3).
PMID: 33807872 DOI: 10.3390/genes12030372

Abstract

Breast cancer commonly affects women of older age; however, in developing countries, up to 20% of breast cancer cases present in young women (younger than 40 years as defined by oncology literature). Breast cancer in young women is often defined to be aggressive in nature, usually of high histological grade at the time of diagnosis and negative for endocrine receptors with poor overall survival rate. Several researchers have attributed this aggressive nature to a hidden unique biology. However, findings in this aspect remain controversial. Thus, in this article, we aimed to review published work addressing somatic mutations, chromosome copy number variants, single nucleotide polymorphisms, differential gene expression, microRNAs and gene methylation profile of early-onset breast cancer, as well as its altered pathways resulting from those aberrations. Distinct biology behind early-onset of breast cancer was clear among estrogen receptor-positive and sporadic cases. However, further research is needed to determine and validate specific novel markers, which may help in customizing therapy for this group of patients.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.