Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in demographics and outcomes of pediatric breast cancer in a United States population-based cohort.
Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was utilized to identify all pediatric patients with malignant breast tumors between 1973 and 2014. Analysis was performed using Stata Statistical Software version 13.1. Associations between categorical variables were made using X2 test. Log-rank test was used for univariate survival analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis investigated five-year survival rates across several variables. Adjusted analysis was performed using a Cox Proportional-Hazards regression.
Results: 134 patients with breast malignancies were identified. Carcinoma was the most prevalent histology (48.5%), followed by fibroepithelial tumors (FETs) (35.1%), and sarcoma (14.2%). FETs were twice as common in black compared to nonblack patients (56.3% vs. 29.0%, p < 0.01). Analyzing histology by stage revealed that 100% of FETs were early stage disease (p < 0.0001). 46.7% of the tumors tested were ER/PR negative, more than twice as many compared to the published adult estimate of 20.0%. Unadjusted survival analysis revealed worse survival for patients with adenocarcinoma/sarcomas, advanced stage, and high grade disease, without a survival difference between races.
Conclusion: Breast cancer remains a rare malignancy among pediatric patients. Although black patients were found to have more noncarcinomatous tumors with less advanced disease, this did not confer a survival advantage.
Type of study: Retrospective cohort study.
Level of evidence: Level III.
Keywords: Breast malignancy; Fibroepithelial tumors; Race; Survival.
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