Lack of care for older breast cancer patients

Older women with breast cancer get a lower level of care than younger women, researchers at The University of Manchester have found.
Compared to younger women, older women with breast cancer are less likely to be diagnosed via needle biopsy and triple assessment, less likely to undergo surgery and less likely to receive radiotherapy, the researchers report in this week’s British Journal of Cancer.
Such management of older women is likely to lead to higher rates of local recurrence of the disease and higher than necessary mortality.
Dr Katrina Lavelle, who led the study at the University’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, explains: "We have found that older women from aged 70 and over are less likely to receive the same breast cancer care as younger women and that this is related to their age rather than differences in the biology of their tumour."
The highest incidence of breast cancer in England occurs in women aged 70 years and older. Older women also experience the worst survival – women aged 70-79 have a 76% five-year relative survival compared to 80% for all ages, and for women aged 80 plus this drops considerably to 61%, beyond what might be expected owing to an increase in age.