Analysis of breast cancer development in young women: an integrative review

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second most frequent type of cancer in the world and is a global public health problem due to its severity and magnitude, and despite being infrequent in younger women, it has recently been increasing in this age group. Breast cancer in young women stands out for presenting more aggressive histopathological aspects, are usually discovered as advanced disease, presenting worse prognosis and higher mortality rate. Objective: To analyze the scientific production regarding breast cancer in young women. Methodology: This is an Integrative Literature Review in the period from 2009 to 2018, being carried out by means of specific terms in the LILACS and Virtual Health Library databases. Articles that investigated breast cancer in young women were retrieved. Results and discussions: In the selected period, six studies were identified that met the established selection criteria, being four retrospective studies, one analytical-prospective and one did not discriminate the method. It was evidenced that after the year 2014 a deficit of publications with the specific theme, highlighting the need for more updated studies in addition to expanding the exploration of the subject to all geographic regions of Brazil, since the predominant regions in the studies found were the Southeast and South of the country. Conclusion: It is evident the limited exploration of the subject, being necessary to emphasize the need for expansion in scientific production, considering the greater aggressiveness, recurrence and worse prognosis of this disease in younger women.