Treatment patterns of elderly breast cancer patients at two Canadian cancer centres

Abstract Background Treatment of breast cancer in elderly women is limited by declining functional status and life expectancy. The impact of providing less aggressive treatment remains controversial. This study assessed the treatment patterns of elderly breast cancer patients. Methods Retrospective chart review of women ≥70 y with breast cancer treated between 2004 and 2011 at two large Canadian cancer centres. Tumour and treatment characteristics were collected across three subgroups: 70–74 y (n = 314), 75–79 y (n = 233), and ≥80 y (n = 219). Comparisons were made using Chi-squared test, Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test, or ANOVA. Disease free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival were estimated by Kaplan–Meier analysis and compared by log-rank test. Results Women ≥80 y had larger tumours that were better differentiated, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, and lymph node (LN)-positive relative to younger women (p