Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in old age breast cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Aging is one of the greatest risk factors for breast cancer. The elderly population of Korea is growing rapidly. This study was conducted in order to assess the clinical characteristics of elderly women with breast cancer and evaluated the determinants and effects of treatment for breast cancer among elderly. Methods: Medical records of 1,580 patients who were diagnosed and treated for breast cancer at Gachon University Gil Medical Center between 2002 and 2012 were reviewed. Tumor characteristics, surgical method, and adjuvant therapy were considered according to age ≥60 years and <60 years. Results: The number of childbirths and the proportion of postmenopausal women were higher in elderly. There were no differences in family history, tumor size, and the number of metastatic lymph nodes between two age groups. 47.1% elderly patients had undergone a mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy was effective on patients with positive hormone receptor and no lymph nodal invasion but did not affect survival rate of patients with negative hormone receptor. Postoperative radiation therapy is effective in young patients with breast conserving surgery and elderly with mastectomy. Poor prognostic factors in elderly were lymph nodal invasion, recurrence, triple negative, negative for progesterone receptor and negative for p53. Conclusion: The prognostic factors of elderly breast cancer patients are hormone receptor status and lymph nodal invasion. Triple negative status is more critical to elderly. Adjuvant therapy showed a similar effect in elderly and young patients. Therefore appropriate surgical and adjuvant treatment considering comorbidity and adverse effect should be administered to elderly patients.

Keywords

• breast neoplasms
• aged
• prognosis