More breast cancer trials for younger patients needed, say experts

UK scientists have called for an increase in the number of clinical trials aimed specifically at younger breast cancer patients.

A study funded by Cancer Research UK and the Wessex Cancer Trust analysed almost 3,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 40, examining survival rates among patients with oestrogen-receptor-positive variants of the disease.

It found that women in this age group experienced a rapid increase in relapse rates after five years when receiving the usual treatment of chemotherapy followed by the drug tamoxifen, while older women do not.

This shows that breast cancer can behave differently when diagnosed in younger women, making it essential to organise clinical trials to assess them specifically.

Chief investigator Professor Dianna Eccles, the head of Cancer Research UK's Southampton clinical trials unit, said: "Research is the key to improving survival for these women and we urgently need trials to help us develop new treatments tailored specifically at this age group."

Breast cancer is now the most common cancer type in the UK, with more than 100 women being diagnosed with the condition every day.