The association of young age with local recurrence in women with early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving therapy: a meta-analysis

The aim of this meta-analysis is to determine the relationship between young age and local recurrence in patients with early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving therapy. Eligible studies were retrieved from various electronic databases. Among the 19 studies included, 14 studies were analyzed for 5-year local recurrence rate and 8 studies for 10-year local recurrence rate using random effects models. Both results showed that young patients were at higher risk of local recurrence compared to old patients (5-year: RR = 2.64, 95% CI (1.94–3.60); 10-year: RR = 2.37, 95% CI (1.57–3.58)). Harbord’s modified test showed the presence of publication bias in both 5- and 10-year local recurrence rates (P = 0.019 and P = 0.01, respectively). While the Trim and Fill analysis showed that the presence of publication bias did not affect the overall outcome of the 5-year local recurrence rate (RR = 2.21, 95% CI (1.62, 3.02)), it significantly affected the effect size of the 10-year local recurrence rate (RR = 1.47, 95% CI (0.96, 2.27)). Young age is a significant risk factor for local recurrence developed within 5 years of breast-conserving therapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Further high-quality studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between young age and the risk of local recurrence developed within 10 years.