Breast cancer screening in elderly patients: An opportunity for less aggressive treatments

Abstract

In our area, the survival of patients over 70 years did not show changes over time (p > 0.05) and keep the same curves and survival rates than patients who were diagnosed and treated during the decades of the 1980s, 1990 and 2000. The percentage of loco-regional recurrence (12.1% vs 18.7%; p = 0.01), of multifocal and/or multi centric cases (6.8% vs 13.1%; p = 0.0001) are lower in patients with ≥ 70 years old than in those with less than < 70 years. Breast carcinomas in women ≥ 70 years over express HER-2 less frequently than younger women (< 70 years: 23.2%, between 70 and 79 years: 17.3% and ≥ 80 years 9.4%; p < 0.001). By contrast, the expression of estrogen receptor increases with age (72% for < 70 years, 78.6% between 70 and 79 years and 84.1% women ≥ 80 years; p < 0.001). With the results from this study, we can conclude that the screening for Breast Cancer in women over 70 years should be promoted. Breast carcinomas in women older than 70 years show morphological and clinical characteristics that make it susceptible to respond to tamoxifen and conservative therapies if diagnosed in early stages.