According to a study conducted by the University of Washington, the number of cases of breast cancer with metastases in women under 40 has been increasing steadily since 1976. Comparing the incidence of the disease in women aged 25 to 39 between 1976 and 2009, researchers found that the number number of cases had simply doubled! A discovery which is not trivial because this form of breast cancer is the one with the least favorable diagnosis, with only a third of women surviving five years after diagnosis.
>> To read also: Breast cancer, protective factors
According to Dr Rebecca Johnson, who led this study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, today one in 173 women is at risk of developing breast cancer before the age of 40, and her prognosis will be less favorable than in older women. According to this doctor, the development of this aggressive form of breast cancer could be linked to the development of obesity, since women eat more and move less than their elders.
“But there is probably another toxic factor involved, which we have not yet identified. Is this the hormonal contraception ? Is it the presence of hormones in the meat or bisphenol plastic bottles? We will have to continue our research to find out why the number of cancer diagnoses has increased so much in young women. According to the study’s figures, in 1976, one in 65,000 breast cancer affected a woman under the age of 40. In 2009, it was one in 34,000 cancer.
Subscribe to the Top Santé Newsletter to receive the latest news for free
