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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
03:07
Single-Port Robotic-assisted Transaxillary Breast-conserving Surgery: A Prospective, Single-arm, Non-randomized Phase IIa Clinical Trial
Published on: August 19, 2025
Surgery for breast cancer in the elderly--how relevant?
Matei Dordea1, Rhys Jones, Andrea Pujol Nicolas
1Breast Unit, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Kayll Road, United Kingdom. matei.dordea@nhs.net
Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland)
|January 22, 2011
Summary
Elderly women over 75 with breast cancer benefit from surgical intervention. Surgery significantly improves survival and reduces disease progression and mortality compared to conservative treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Surgical Oncology
Background:
- Elderly women with breast cancer often receive less aggressive treatment.
- This can lead to higher rates of disease progression and mortality in this demographic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of surgical intervention on survival and disease progression in women over 75 with symptomatic breast cancer.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 256 consecutive cases of symptomatic breast cancer in women aged 75+.
- Comparison of outcomes between patients who underwent surgery (breast conserving surgery or mastectomy) and those who did not.
- Mean follow-up period of 6.4 years.
Main Results:
- Surgical intervention was associated with a statistically significant improvement in survival (p=0.05).
- Surgery showed a strong statistically significant association with reduced disease progression/recurrence (p=0.001).
- Non-surgical treatment in less fit patients led to higher cancer-unrelated mortality, masking some benefits.
Conclusions:
- Surgical treatment, combined with adjuvant endocrine and/or radiotherapy, offers a statistically significant survival advantage for elderly women with breast cancer.
- Surgery is associated with improved local disease control and reduced disease-related mortality in this population.
- The findings support surgical intervention as a beneficial treatment modality for elderly women with symptomatic breast cancer.
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