Surgical treatment of breast cancer in patients aged 80 years or older - how much is enough?

Background: The population of elderly people is increasing and so is the population of breast cancer patients aged >= 80 years. The aim of our retrospective study was to identify independent prognostic factors for the duration of breast cancer-specific survival of surgically treated patients aged >= 80 years. The secondary aim was to determine the appropriate surgical treatment of breast cancer in patients aged >= 80 years. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 154 patients aged >= 80 years with early-stage breast cancer (mean age 83 years) who underwent surgery at the tertiary cancer center in the period from 2000 to 2008. Tumor stage was pT1/pT2 and pT3/pT4 in 75% and 25%, respectively. Surgical treatment comprised: quadrantectomy (in 27%), mastectomy (in 73%), axillary dissection (in 57%), and sentinel lymph node biopsy (in 18%), while 25% of patients had no axillary surgery. Results: During a median follow-up of 5.3 years, 31% of patients died of breast cancer, while 28% of patients died of other causes. Half of our patients with poorly differentiated breast cancer or estrogen receptor-negative tumor died of breast cancer. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that the pathological T-stage, pathological N-stage and estrogen receptors were independent prognostic factors for the duration of breast cancer-specific survival of patients. Conclusion: Short breast cancer-specific survival indicates that, in patients aged >= 80 years, breast cancer with metastases in axillary lymph nodes can be an aggressive disease.