Clinicopathological features and treatment sensitivity of elderly Chinese breast cancer patients

This study aimed to determine the clinicopathological features and treatment sensitivity of elderly breast cancer patients in China. The clinical data of 594 elderly breast cancer patients of 70 or more years of age were collected and compared to those of 657 patients of less than 70 years of age to analyze whether breast cancer in the elderly is different and whether the difference affected outcome. The median age was 75.2 years in the elderly patients and 49.8 years in the young patients. Age of menarche, parous status and body mass index were similar in the two groups. A higher frequency of steroid receptor-positive rate, a lower expression of HER-2 and p53, less axillary node-positive rate and earlier tumor stage were found in patients of 70 years or older. The 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was 77 and 82% in the elderly and 86 and 93% in the young patients, respectively. Patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive or lymph node (LN)-negative cancers showed a more favorable outcome in the elderly patients. RFS and OS were increased in elderly patients who underwent endocrine therapy or omitted chemotherapy. Breast cancer in the elderly had more favorable tumor features, using estrogen receptor and lymph node status as prognostic factors. It was therefore concluded that adjuvant endocrine therapy may benefit elderly patients, while chemotherapy may not.