The management of young women with breast cancer in Switzerland: a snapshot

Introduction: In recent years, several countries, including Switzerland, reported an increase of breast cancer (BC) incidence among women under the age of 40 years1,2. Compared to older women with BC, women of this age group generally present more aggressive biological characteristics, higher stage at diagnosis, lower survival rates and more life-years lost per death3,4. This group of patients also faces specific issues, unique to their young age, such as completing their education, developing a career, parenting young children, fertility impairment and long-term treatment toxicities. Significant regional disparities in BC survival rates have been observed in Switzerland. Recently, evidence-based international guidelines have been specifically developed to optimize the treatment of young women with BC5.