FRIDAY, Oct. 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Demographic and tumor factors are associated with delays in care for young women with breast cancer, but these delays do not influence outcomes, according to a study published online Oct. 12 in Cancer.
Bessie X. Zhang, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined factors influencing care delays and how these delays affect outcomes among women aged 40 years and younger at diagnosis of stage 0 to IV breast cancer. The associations between delays and disease-free survival and overall survival were assessed.
The researchers identified 153 presentation delays (first symptom to provider visit, ≥90 days), 120 diagnostic delays (presentation to diagnosis, ≥90 days), and 228 treatment delays (diagnosis to treatment, ≥60 days) among 1,071 women. Higher odds of presentation delay were seen in association with lower annual income in multivariable models, while lower odds were seen in association with pregnancy at diagnosis, family history of breast cancer, and triple-negative subtype. Presentation delays were associated with later stage in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive luminal B tumors. Higher odds of diagnostic delay were seen for younger patients, while the odds were lower for those with triple-negative tumors. Treatment delays were less likely for patients with more aggressive tumor subtypes. No associations were seen for delays with disease-free survival or overall survival.
"Our study reveals continued issues in care delay among patients with young-onset breast cancer and emphasizes a need to improve both patient and provider understanding of young-onset breast cancer risk factors and symptoms to decrease disease burden among these patients," coauthor Kristen D. Brantley Ph.D., M.P.H., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
