Declined guideline adherence in older breast cancer patients: a population-based study in the Netherlands

Why do Older Women Avoid Breast Cancer Surgery? A Qualitative Analysis of Decision-making Factors

BACKGROUND

Few studies have explored why older women (≥70 years old) avoid breast cancer surgery. This study aimed to identify physician- and patient-perceived attitudes that influence the decision to avoid surgery among older women with invasive breast cancer.

METHODS

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with multidisciplinary breast cancer specialists and older women (≥70 years old) with breast cancer who declined surgery. Transcripts were iteratively coded using a theoretical framework to guide identification of common themes. Thematic comparison was performed between patients and physicians.

RESULTS

Ten breast cancer specialists and eleven patients participated. Physicians believed older women declined surgery because they did not perceive breast cancer as a life-threatening ailment compared to other medical comorbidities. Physicians did not discuss breast reconstruction, as it was perceived to be unimportant. Treatment side effects, length of treatment, impact on quality of life, and minimal survival benefit strongly influenced patients' decision to decline surgery. Patients valued independence and quality of life over quantity of life. Patients felt empowered to participate in the decision-making process but appreciated having support. Both phyisicians and patients had congruent beliefs with respect to age impacting treatment decision, cosmesis playing a minor factor in treatment decisions, and importance of quality of life; however, they were discordant in their perceptions about the amount of support that patients have from their families.

CONCLUSIONS

The decision to avoid surgery in older women stems from a variety of individual beliefs. Acknowledging patient values early in treatment planning may facilitate a patient-centered approach to the decision-making process.

Outcomes After Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and Radiotherapy in Older Women With Early-Stage, Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

IMPORTANCE

Overtreatment of early-stage breast cancer with favorable tumor biology in older patients may be harmful without affecting recurrence and survival. Guidelines that recommend deimplementation of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) (Choosing Wisely) and radiotherapy (RT) (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) have been published.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the use rates and association with disease recurrence of SLNB and RT in older women with breast cancer.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study obtained patient and clinical data from an integrated cancer registry and electronic health record of a single health care system in Pennsylvania. The cohort was composed of consecutive female patients 70 years or older who were diagnosed with early-stage, estrogen receptor-positive, ERBB2 (formerly HER2)-negative, clinically node-negative breast cancer from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2018, who were treated at 15 community and academic hospitals within the health system.

EXPOSURES

Sentinel lymph node biopsy and adjuvant RT.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Primary outcomes were 5-year locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate after SLNB and after RT. Secondary outcomes included recurrence rate, subgroups that may benefit from SLNB or RT, and use rate of SLNB and RT over time. Propensity scores were used to create 2 cohorts to separately evaluate the association of SLNB and RT with recurrence outcomes. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs).

RESULTS

From 2010 to 2018, a total of 3361 women 70 years or older (median [interquartile range {IQR}] age, 77.0 [73.0-82.0] years) with estrogen receptor-positive, ERBB2-negative, clinically node-negative breast cancer were included in the study. Of these women, 2195 (65.3%) received SLNB and 1828 (54.4%) received adjuvant RT. Rates of SLNB steadily increased (1.0% per year), a trend that persisted after the 2016 adoption of the Choosing Wisely guideline. Rates of RT decreased slightly (3.4% per year). To examine patient outcomes and maximize follow-up time, the analysis was limited to cases from 2010 to 2014, identifying 2109 patients with a median (IQR) follow-up time of 4.1 (2.5-5.7) years. In the propensity score-matched cohorts, no association was found between SLNB and either LRFS (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 0.37-4.30; P = .71) or DFS (HR, 1.92; 95% CI, 0.86-4.32; P = .11). In addition, RT was not associated with LRFS (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.09-1.24; P = .10) or DFS (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.46-2.10; P = .97). Subgroup analysis showed that stratification by tumor grade or comorbidity was not associated with LRFS or DFS. Low absolute rates of recurrence were observed when comparing the groups that received SLNB (3.5%) and those that did not (4.5%) as well as the groups that received RT (2.7%) and those that did not (5.5%).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This study found that receipt of SLNB or RT was not associated with improved LRFS or DFS in older patients with ER-positive, clinically node-negative breast cancer. Despite limited follow-up time and wide 95% CIs, this study supports the continued deimplementation of both SLNB and RT in accordance with the Choosing Wisely and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines.

Adherence to treatment guidelines and survival in older women with early-stage breast cancer in Denmark 2008-2012

Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare patients 70 years or older with younger patients, to examine whether Danish patients with early-stage breast cancer aged 70 years or more received treatment according to guidelines, the reasons for deviating from the guidelines, and to analyze whether such deviations affected survival.Methods: From the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group (DBCG) database we identified 23,247 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in Denmark from 2008 to 2012. 17,391 were aged less than 70 years and 5856 were 70+ years. We reviewed medical charts of 441 patients aged 70+ years from Funen (a region of Denmark) to ascertain whether treatment was given according to the guidelines of DBCG and if not, the reason for deviating. Overall survival was analyzed by Cox proportional hazards models.Results: Up to age 80 years most women (94%) had surgery according to guidelines, decreasing to 41% in women aged 85+ years, the main reason for omitting surgery being patients' requests. Patients with breast cancer over the age of 80 years did not have an excess mortality compared with the general population in Funen. Compared with women who had surgery according to guidelines, women who did not have surgery had a significantly higher risk of dying with a hazard ratio (HR) of 8.38 (95% Confidence Intervals (CI) 4.46-15.8) if they were less than 80 years and HR = 2.56 (95% CI 1.63-4.01) if they were 80 years or more (p = .003 for interaction).Conclusions: Adherence to treatment according to guidelines decreases with increasing age, mainly for patients aged 80+ years. Our results suggest that surgery is important for the survival of patients aged less than 80 years.

Healthcare providers' adherence to breast cancer guidelines in Europe: a systematic literature review

Purpose

Clinical guidelines’ (CGs) adherence supports high-quality care. However, healthcare providers do not always comply with CGs recommendations. This systematic literature review aims to assess the extent of healthcare providers’ adherence to breast cancer CGs in Europe and to identify the factors that impact on healthcare providers’ adherence.

Methods

We searched for systematic reviews and quantitative or qualitative primary studies in MEDLINE and Embase up to May 2019. The eligibility assessment, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were conducted by one author and cross-checked by a second author. We conducted a narrative synthesis attending to the modality of the healthcare process, methods to measure adherence, the scope of the CGs, and population characteristics.

Results

Out of 8137 references, we included 41 primary studies conducted in eight European countries. Most followed a retrospective cohort design (19/41; 46%) and were at low or moderate risk of bias. Adherence for overall breast cancer care process (from diagnosis to follow-up) ranged from 54 to 69%; for overall treatment process [including surgery, chemotherapy (CT), endocrine therapy (ET), and radiotherapy (RT)] the median adherence was 57.5% (interquartile range (IQR) 38.8–67.3%), while for systemic therapy (CT and ET) it was 76% (IQR 68–77%). The median adherence for the processes assessed individually was higher, ranging from 74% (IQR 10–80%), for the follow-up, to 90% (IQR 87–92.5%) for ET. Internal factors that potentially impact on healthcare providers’ adherence were their perceptions, preferences, lack of knowledge, or intentional decisions.

Conclusions

A substantial proportion of breast cancer patients are not receiving CGs-recommended care. Healthcare providers’ adherence to breast cancer CGs in Europe has room for improvement in almost all care processes. CGs development and implementation processes should address the main factors that influence healthcare providers' adherence, especially patient-related ones.

Registration:

PROSPERO (CRD42018092884).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s10549-020-05657-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

Surgical treatment and prognosis of breast cancer in elderly - A population-based study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate outcome of treatment in patients over 80 years of age with early breast cancer at the time of the diagnosis with special interest in surgical treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Breast cancer patients older than 80 years of age, treated at the Breast Surgery Unit of Helsinki University Hospital in 2005-2010 were identified from electronic patient records. Patients were followed-up until the end of 2014. Patient and tumour characteristics, recurrences, co-morbidities and reasons for omission of surgery were collected from electronic patient records. Survival data was obtained from Finnish Cancer Registry.

RESULTS

446 patients were eligible for the study: 401 (90%) received surgery. The median follow-up time was 52 months. In the entire study population, local and regional recurrences/disease progression were diagnosed in 16 (3.6%) and 6 (1.3%) patients, respectively. The five-year overall survival was 50.6% in the surgical treatment and only 15.2% in non-surgical treatment group, p < 0.001. Also, the five-year breast cancer specific survival was significantly better in the patients with surgery, 82.0%, but 56.0% in the patients without surgery, p < 0.001. There was no mortality related to the surgery, but 122 (30%) patients died within three years from surgery.

CONCLUSION

Surgical treatment rate was high. OS and BCSS were better in surgically treated elderly patients. Local and regional disease control was excellent, probably due to high rate of surgical treatment. Surgical treatment also seemed safe in this elderly patient population. However, surgical overtreatment was obvious in some patients.

The rationale for and long-term outcome of incomplete axillary staging in elderly women with primary breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The proportion of elderly women diagnosed with breast cancer is rising. Standard treatment, including axillary staging, is often not given to these patients. This study aimed to investigate reasons to omit any surgical axillary staging or to refrain from completion axillary lymph node dissection (cALND) after positive-sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB); so-called "incomplete staging". Furthermore, the impact of incomplete staging on regional control and survival in patients aged 75 or older was evaluated.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted including all primary breast cancer patients aged 75 or older, diagnosed between 2001 and 2008, and documented by the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Patients with incomplete staging were compared to patients with complete axillary staging. Survival analyses were used to determine the risk of local, regional and distant recurrence and overall survival.

RESULTS

In total, 1467 of 2116 (69%) patients were considered eligible, of whom 258 (17.2%) had incomplete axillary staging. For 93 patients, diagnosed in 6 of the 10 hospitals in the NCR-area, examination of clinical records revealed that age, comorbidities and patient preferences were the main reason for omitting complete axillary staging. The 10-year axillary recurrence rate in these 93 patients was 5.2% (95% CI, 0.03-10.1). Of the 77 patients who had died, 64 (83%) died of non-breast-cancer-related causes. No significant difference in overall survival was observed between patients with or without complete axillary staging.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that the omission of complete axillary staging is common in selected elderly breast cancer patients with ≥2 comorbidities, with no apparent impact on regional control and 10-year overall survival.

Are Providers and Patients Following Hormonal Therapy Guidelines for Patients Over the Age of 70? The Influence of CALGB 9343

BACKGROUND

The Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9343 clinical trial proved that omission of radiotherapy (RT) in patients 70 and older with T1cN0M0, estrogen receptor-positive tumors who undergo breast conservation therapy (BCT) and receive 5 years of endocrine therapy (ET) had no change in overall survival, distant disease-free survival, or breast preservation. We examined our institution's practice with this patient subset.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A single-institution retrospective chart review was performed on patients 70 years and older with T1N0M0, estrogen receptor-positive tumors, and who underwent BCT between April 2010 and October 2015.

RESULTS

A total of 123 patients met inclusion criteria: 46% received RT and 73% received ET. The ET group had a mean age of 76.2 years, whereas the non-ET group had a mean age of 80.2 years (P = .00006). Race did not influence if patients received ET (P = .4). In patients who received ET, mean age at time of diagnosis for those that completed 5 years of therapy was 75.5 years, whereas those who stopped therapy early had a mean age of 77.6 years (P = .053). In patients who received ET but stopped early, reasons for cessation included side-effect profile (67%), death (22%), and noncompliance (11%). Of the 27% of patients that did not receive ET, 62% were not offered therapy, 24% refused, and 14% were lost to postoperative follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Increasing age showed significant association to not receive ET. Contraindication to ET and provider's assessment of minimal benefit are the most common reasons why patients are not prescribed ET. If patients are non-compliant with ET, RT should be reconsidered.

Patient-reported factors influencing the treatment decision-making process of older women with non-metastatic breast cancer: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

PURPOSE

Older women (≥ 70 years old) with breast cancer undergo different treatments than young women. Studies have examined factors that influence this disparity, but synthesized patient-reported data are lacking in the literature. This study aims to identify, appraise, and synthesize the existing qualitative evidence on patient-reported factors influencing older women's decision to accept or decline breast cancer treatment.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA) principles. Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched for qualitative studies describing patient-reported factors influencing the decision-making process of older women (≥ 70 years old) with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer. Quality was assessed using the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) criteria. Common ideas were coded, thematically organized, and synthesized within a theoretical framework.

RESULTS

Of 5998 studies identified, 10 met eligibility criteria. The median SRQR total score was 13.04 (IQR 12.84-13.81). The studies represented a range of cancer treatments; most of the studies focused on surgery and primary endocrine therapy. Our data show that the most common patient-reported factors in the decision-making process included treatment characteristics, personal goals/beliefs, patient characteristics, physician's recommendation, and personal/family experience. These factors led the patient to either accept or decline treatment, and were not consistent across all studies included. Studies used different interview guides, which may have affected these results.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review highlights the complexity of factors that influence an older woman's treatment decision-making process. Acknowledging and addressing these factors may improve discussions about treatment choices between older women and their health care providers, and encourage maximization of a patient-centered approach.

Adherence to cancer treatment guidelines: influence of general and cancer-specific guideline characteristics

Background

Guideline adherence remains a challenge in clinical practice, despite guidelines' ascribed potential to improve patient outcomes. We studied the level of adherence to recommendations from Dutch national cancer treatment guidelines, and the influence of general and cancer-specific guideline characteristics on adherence.

Methods

Based on data from a national cancer registry, adherence was evaluated for 15 treatment recommendations for breast, colorectal, prostate and lung cancer, and melanoma. Recommendations were selected by representatives of the medical specialist associations responsible for developing and implementing the guidelines. We used multivariable multilevel analysis to calculate mean adherence and variation between individual hospitals.

Results

Mean adherence to the different treatment recommendations ranged from 40 to 99%. Adherence differed only slightly between older and newer guidelines and between recommendations with low, moderate or high levels of evidence (range 79-84% and 77-91%, respectively), while adherence differed more between recommendations for different cancer types (range 54-99%), different treatment modalities (adherence ranged from 40 to 92%) or recommendations that advised against or recommended in favour of particular treatment (adherence ranged from 75 to 98%).

Conclusion

We found significant variation in adherence between different cancer treatment guidelines. While some guideline characteristics that seem to explain this variation may be considered difficult to modify, the potential for variance across cancer types and treatment modalities suggests that adherence could be further improved. At the same time, these results warrant tailored strategies for the improvement of adherence to clinical practice guidelines.

Care patterns and changes in treatment for nonmetastatic breast cancer in 2013-2014 versus 2005: a population-based high-resolution study

Studies on recent trends in patterns of care for breast cancer patients are scarce. This study aims to examine the patterns and trends in the treatment of women with nonmetastatic breast cancer according to major recommended treatment options. A population-based study was carried out in Navarra, Spain, including all women with a primary invasive nonmetastasized breast cancer, diagnosed in 2005 and in 2013-2014. We compared patients' characteristics and treatment patterns between periods. Factors associated with receipt of recommended treatment were examined by multivariate logistic regression. Of the 719 patients included, 90% received guideline-adherent locoregional treatment. Over the two periods, there was an increasing use of sentinel lymph node biopsy as opposed to axillary lymph node dissection as the first axillary procedure. Among women with oestrogen receptor-positive tumours, 96% received endocrine therapy. The proportion of high-risk patients who were treated with chemotherapy increased between the two periods from 65 to 74% (P=0.079) and, among patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive tumours, the receipt of targeted treatment increased from 37 to 72% (P<0.001). The main factors associated independently with a lower probability of receiving recommended treatment were age 70 years or older for all treatment modalities and comorbidity for locoregional treatment and chemotherapy. The proportion of women with breast cancer who received treatment according to recent European guidelines in Navarra has increased from 2005 to 2013-2014, resulting in a high level of adherence to standard care. Most failures in adherence to these standards are related to older age or comorbidities.

Screening-relevant age threshold of 70 years and older is a stronger determinant for the choice of adjuvant treatment in breast cancer patients than tumor biology

Purpose

The 70-year threshold determines whether patients are eligible or not for the breast cancer screening program in Germany. It is not known whether this age threshold also influences the choice of adjuvant treatment and ultimate outcome.

Methods

3463 patients were analyzed from the clinical cancer registry Regensburg (Germany) with primary, non-metastatic invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2012. The distribution of tumor biological subtypes was evaluated in breast cancer patients both in those eligible for screening (ESG, 50–69 years) and those not eligible for screening (NESG, ≥70 years). Local and systemic therapies in different subtypes as well as overall survival (OS) were analyzed.

Results

2171 patients (62.7%) pertained to the ESG and 1292 patients (37.3%) referred to the NESG. The distribution of the common subtypes Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-like, and Basal-like was comparable in both groups. Treatment varied considerably with less systemic therapies in all subtypes in patients in the NESG. Regarding local therapies, patients in the NESG also received less surgery and less radiotherapy. As to Luminal A patients, best OS was seen in patients receiving endocrine therapy (ET) (7-year OS of 95.6%) and CHT plus ET (7-year OS of 93.1%) in the ESG. In the NESG, best OS was seen in patients receiving CHT plus ET (7-year OS of 95.2%), whereas patients receiving only ET had a 7-year OS of 73.9%.

Conclusions

Despite similar tumor biology, elderly patients are undertreated regarding both systemic and local therapies compared to younger patients, leading to reduced OS.

Assessing guideline adherence and patient outcomes in cervical cancer

AIM

To investigate adherence to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in cervical cancer and the correlation with clinical outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted using patient information from a population-based cancer registry (2005-2011, n = 208). Compliance to 10 widely accepted CPGs was assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess sociodemographic factors associated with CPG adherence. Multivariate Cox regression was performed to assess the relationship between CPG adherence and 5-year survival.

RESULTS

Adherence to individual CPGs ranged from 47% to 100%. Compliance to all applicable CPGs was seen in 54% (n = 72) of patients, 62% of stage I and II patients and 22% of stage III and IV patients. Poorest adherence was seen with those with locally advanced disease receiving chemoradiotherapy. Patients who lived within 5 km of the treatment facility were more likely to be compliant. No difference was found for either age, country of birth or socioeconomic status group. Five-year survival was greater for stage I and II patients who received guideline adherent care (93.7% vs 69.7%, P = 0.002), and they had a significant lower risk of death on multivariate analysis (HR = 0.22, P = 0.015). There was no significant difference for those with stage III or IV disease.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, CPG adherence is variable between treatment modalities and only half complied to all applicable CPGs. There was better adherence in those with early-stage disease and this was associated with improved patient outcomes. CPG adherence may be a useful surrogate for quality of care.

Indicators based on registers and administrative data for breast cancer: routine evaluation of oncologic care pathway can be implemented

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Assuring the best standards of care - in a sustainable way - in chronic diseases as breast cancer is nowadays an important challenge for any health system. The aim of this study was to present the methodology used to define a set of quality indicators, computable from administrative data for the pathway of care of breast cancer, and its application at a population level.

METHOD

The cohort of 2007-2009 incident cases of breast cancer was identified through a network of six cancer registers in Northern Italy. Cases of sarcoma and lymphoma, patients with multiple primary cancers and those metastatic at diagnosis were excluded; 9614 women were retained for the analysis. For each indicator, the sub-cohort of women eligible for the diagnostic/therapeutic procedures was identified and calculations were performed through record linkage between the cohort and sources of health information. Data on potential available confounders or prognostic factors were also collected.

RESULTS

For a few indicators, such as cyto-histological assessment before surgery (62%) and intensive follow-up (79%), deviation from recommendations was evident. Younger patients (≤50 years) more frequently needed a short term re-intervention, while older patients less frequently underwent reconstructive surgery and received palliative care. Several indicators had a great variability across hospitals. In some cases, this heterogeneity appeared to be related to the hospital size, with high-volume hospitals being more compliant to guidelines.

CONCLUSION

It is possible to evaluate the quality of cancer care delivered in clinical practice in recent years, in order to implement interventions aimed to improve adherence to international standards of care.

Aggressive Intrinsic Subtypes in Breast Cancer: A Predictor of Guideline Adherence in Older Patients With Breast Cancer?

BACKGROUND

Treatment side effects, comorbidities, and guideline-adherent treatment (GL+) influence the oncologic outcome of older breast cancer patients (oBCP) (age ≥ 70 years). The focus of this analysis was to investigate the associations among tumor characteristics, guideline adherence, and outcome and to compare these associations between younger breast cancer patients (yBCP) (age 50-69 years) and oBCP.

METHODS

This is a retrospective multicenter cohort study with 17 participating certified breast cancer centers. The analysis of 10,897 patient records collected from 1992 to 2008 for GL+ and clinical outcome was performed. Tumor and patient characteristics and their associations with GL+ were compared between oBCP and yBCP.

RESULTS

Nonguideline-adherent treatment (GL-) was associated with higher tumor stages and comorbidities. This effect was stronger in the oBCP group (P < .001). GL+ was significantly more common in yBCP than in oBCP (P < .001). The oBCP had significantly higher tumor stages, including tumor size (P < .001), nodal status (P < .001), and positive hormone receptors (P = .001). Tumor grading was lower (P = .001), and HER2neu overexpression was less frequent (P = .003) in oBCP. Overall survival and disease-free survival are significantly impaired if GL- occurred in patients with breast cancer independently of age.

CONCLUSIONS

GL- is associated with decreased disease-free survival and overall survival in both age groups. GL+ decreases advanced tumor characteristics in all age groups but significantly more in oBCP. If patients received GL+, we were unable to detect a statistical significant difference in the survival parameters.

Deviation from the Standard of Care for Early Breast Cancer in the Elderly: What are the Consequences?

BACKGROUND

For elderly patients with early-stage breast cancer, the standards of care often are not strictly followed due to either clinician biases or patient preferences. The authors hypothesized that forgoing radiation and lymph node (LN) staging for elderly patients with early-stage breast cancer would have a negative impact on survival.

METHODS

From the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database, 53,619 women older than 55 years with stage 1 breast cancer who underwent breast conservation surgery were identified. Analyses were performed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients who received the standards of care with LN sampling and radiation and those of patients who did not, with control used for confounders. To account for selection bias from covariate imbalance, propensity score matching was performed. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

Older patients were less likely to receive radiation and LN sampling. These standards of care were associated with improved overall survival rates of 15.8 and 27.1 % after 10 years, respectively (p ≤ 0.0001). This survival advantage persisted after propensity score matching, with a 7.4 % higher survival rate for patients who received radiation and a 16.8 % higher survival rate for those who underwent LN staging (p < 0.0001). Lymph node sampling and radiation therapy also conferred a statistically significant improvement in breast cancer-specific survival, with 1.3 and 2.6 % lower mortality rates respectively in the radiated and LN biopsy groups (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

As patients age, they are less likely to receive the standard of care for stage 1 breast cancer. Even after controlling for other factors, the study showed that failure to adhere to the standards of LN sampling and radiation therapy may have a negative impact in survival.

Primary Hormonal Therapy for Elderly Breast Cancer Patients: Single Institution Experience

AIMS

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. Up to 50% of breast cancer cases occur in patients over the age of 65 years. Hormonal therapy as a single alternative treatment has been used in this population. The aim of this study was to analyze the oncological outcomes in breast cancer patients who received hormonal therapy alone as a primary treatment.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed our database to find all patients with breast cancer from 2006 to 2011 who were treated with hormonal therapy only at our center. The collected data included patients and tumor characteristics, type of drug administered, follow-up details and type of response obtained using RECIST criteria.

RESULTS

We included 44 breast cancer patients. The mean age was 83.5 ± 6.0 years. The majority of patients had tumors with less aggressive immunohistochemical characteristics and 100% of them presented positive estrogen receptors. The pharmacological treatment included exemestane, anastrozole, tamoxifen, letrozole and fulvestrant. The effectiveness rate was 60%, evaluated according to tumor reduction or no progression.

CONCLUSION

The efficacy of hormonal therapy in older patients is reasonably high to justify its use in selected patients. Therefore, it is a sensible alternative for patients who refuse or are unfit for surgery.

Provision of breast cancer care and survival in Germany - results from a population-based high resolution study from Saarland

BACKGROUND

Studies on the implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) and particularly its effect on breast cancer (BRC) survival on a population-level are scant. This population-based high resolution study from Germany aims at providing data on the usage of BRC treatment, the extent of adherence to CPG and, as a novelty, survival of BRC patients according to major recommended treatment options.

METHODS

Data from the Saarland Cancer Registry including women diagnosed with invasive BRC without distant metastasis and followed up between 2000 and 2009 were used. Provision of cancer care according to major treatment options is presented by age, clinical subtypes of BRC, and over time. Conventional and modeled period analysis was used to derive estimates of most up-to-date 5-year relative survival (RS) and the effect of non-adherence to CPG on relative excess risk of death (RER).

RESULTS

The study revealed increasing guideline adherence, with high levels already seen for local treatment (e.g. 67% of the BRC patients in 2008/09 received breast conserving surgery), and substantial progress since the millennium change with regard to sentinel node dissection (SND) and adjuvant systemic treatments (e.g. SND and chemotherapy provided to 62% of all patients and 79% of the patients with nodal positive or hormone receptor negative BRC in 2008/09, respectively). It further demonstrated increased cancer related mortality among patients without guideline compliant cancer treatment (e.g. patients with nodal positive and hormone receptor negative BRC who were not treated with chemotherapy had a 5-year RS of 29% (RER: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.46-5.71) compared to 54% for patients obtaining chemotherapy).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides data on the implementation of CPG in a highly developed European country and extends available population-based survival data of BRC patients and may provide evidence of increased cancer related excess mortality, if BRC patients do not receive guideline compatible treatment.

How to implement a geriatric assessment in your clinical practice

Cancer is a disease that mostly affects older adults. Other health conditions, changes in functional status, and use of multiple medications change the risks and benefits of cancer treatment for older adults. Several international organizations, such as the International Society of Geriatric Oncology, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, recommend the conduct of a geriatric assessment (GA) for older adults with cancer to help select the most appropriate treatment and identify any underlying undetected medical, functional, and psychosocial issues that can interfere with treatment. The aim of this review is to describe what a GA is and how to implement it in daily clinical practice for older adults with cancer in the oncology setting. We provide an overview of commonly used tools. Key considerations in performing the GA include the resources available (staff, space, and time), patient population (who will be assessed), what GA tools to use, and clinical follow-up (who will be responsible for using the GA results for developing care plans and who will provide follow-up care). Important challenges in implementing GA in clinical practice include not having easy and timely access to geriatric expertise, patient burden of the additional hospital visits, and establishing collaboration between the GA team and oncologists regarding expectations of the population referred for GA and expected outcomes of the GA. Finally, we provide some possible interventions for problems identified during the GA.

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.

Portrait, treatment choices and management of breast cancer in nonagenarians: an ongoing challenge

There are only scarce data on the management of nonagenarians with breast cancer, and more particularly on the place of radiation therapy (RT). We report a retrospective study on patients aged 90 years old or older, with breast cancer, receiving RT. Records from RT departments from five institutions were reviewed to identify patients 90 years old of age and older undergoing RT over past decade for breast cancer. Tumors' characteristics were examined, as well treatment specificities and treatment intent. 44 patients receiving RT courses were identified, mean age 92 years. Treatment was given with curative and palliative intent in 72.7% and 27.3% respectively. Factors associated with a curative treatment were performance status (PS), place of life, previous surgery, and tumor stage. Median total prescribed dose was 40 Gy (23-66). Hypo fractionation was used in 77%. Most toxicities were mild to moderate. RT could not be completed in 1 patient (2.3%). No long-term toxicity was reported. Among 31 patients analyzable for effectiveness, 24 patients (77.4%) had their diseased controlled until last follow-up, including 17 patients (54.8%) experiencing complete response. At last follow-up, 4 patients (12.9%) were deceased, cancer being cause of death for two of them. The study shows that breast/chest RT is feasible in nonagenarians. Although the definitive benefit of RT could not be addressed here, hypofractionated therapy allowed a good local control with acceptable side effects.

Undertreatment of breast cancer in the elderly

Aims

The effect of undertreatment with adjuvant hormonal therapy, chemotherapy or radiation was studied in elderly women with breast cancer.

Methods

A prospectively maintained database was used to identify women undergoing potentially curative surgery between 1997 and 2011. The presentation, pathologic findings, treatment and outcomes of 449 women over 65 were compared to the findings in 1049 younger patients. Moreover, conventionally treated and undertreated elderly patients were identified and their characteristics and outcomes were compared.

Results

Both young and old patients presented most frequently with mammographic findings, but older patients presented more frequently with mammographic masses while younger patients presented more frequently with mammographic calcifications. Cancers of older patients were signicantly more favorable than cancers in younger patients with more infiltrating lobular, fewer ductal carcinoma in situ and more frequently estrogen receptor positive and fewer were poorly differentiated. Elderly patients had less axillary surgery, less adjuvant radiation therapy and more hormonal therapy. Fourty-six percent of the 449 elderly patients were undertreated by conventional criteria. Undertreated patients were more frequently in situ, better differentiated, smaller, and more often estrogen receptor positive. Forty-four percent of the undertreated patients died during follow-up without disease recurrence.

Conclusions

Despite undertreatment, local and distant disease-free survival was comparable to patients who were not undertreated.

The use of adjuvant endocrine breast cancer therapy in the oldest old

In order to report specifically on the use of adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) in the oldest old breast cancer (BC) patients, we compared treatment patterns including drug compliance and persistence in a cohort of patients who were ≥ 80 years at diagnosis (n = 79) with those of "younger elderly" patients who were 60-79 years old (n = 358). The geriatric cohort more commonly declined the recommended ET (non-compliance: 13.0% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.011). Of the patients who initiated ET, only a minority of the older patients completed the planned therapy duration of five years (39.6% vs. 71.3%, p < 0.001). However, when applying strict criteria for non-persistence, this was found in comparable frequency (17.0% vs. 12.0%, p = 0.370). In older patients, medication was more often discontinued by the physician due to serious medical reasons independent of BC (17.0% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.003). Older women were treated by a general practitioner more often and not by an oncologist (54.4% vs. 23.9%, p < 0.001). Studies on compliance/persistence on cancer therapy in the oldest old demand a detailed follow-up of the patients and the consideration of principles of geriatric medicine. Efforts should be made to make sure that all physicians, but above all general practitioners, who are predominantly involved in the treatment of elderly BC patients, are provided with current knowledge and skills, as to ensure optimal patient management.

Adherence to recommended treatments for early invasive breast cancer: decisions of women attending surgeons in the breast cancer audit of Australia and New Zealand

AIM

The study aim was to determine the frequency with which women decline clinicians' treatment recommendations and variations in this frequency by age, cancer and service descriptors.

DESIGN

The study included 36,775 women diagnosed with early invasive breast cancer in 1998-2005 and attending Australian and New Zealand breast surgeons. Rate ratios for declining treatment were examined by descriptor, using bilateral and multiple logistic regression analyses. Proportional hazards regression was used in exploratory analyses of associations with breast cancer death.

RESULTS

3.4% of women declined a recommended treatment of some type, ranging from 2.6% for women under 40 years to 5.8% for those aged 80 years or more, and with parallel increases by age presenting for declining radiotherapy (p<0.001) and axillary surgery (p=0.006). Multiple regression confirmed that common predictors of declining various treatments included low surgeon case load, treatment outside major city centres, and older age. Histological features suggesting a favourable prognosis were often predictive of declining various treatments, although reverse findings also applied with women with positive nodal status being more likely to decline a mastectomy and those with larger tumours more likely to decline chemotherapy. While survival analyses lacked statistical power due to small numbers, higher risks of breast cancer death were suggested, after adjusting for age and conventional clinical risk factors, (1) for women not receiving breast surgery for unstated reasons (RR=2.29; p<0.001); and (2) although not approaching statistical significance p≥ 0.200), for women declining radiotherapy (RR=1.22), a systemic therapy (RR1.11), and more specifically, chemotherapy (RR=1.41).

CONCLUSIONS

Women have the right to choose their treatments but reasons for declining recommendations require further study to ensure that choices are well informed and clinical outcomes are optimized.

Undertreated breast cancer in the elderly

The effect of undertreatment with adjuvant hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation was studied in elderly women with breast cancer. A prospectively maintained database was used to identify women undergoing potentially curative surgery between 1978 and 2012. The presentation, pathologic findings, treatment, and outcomes of 382 women over 70 were compared to the findings in 2065 younger patients. Subsequently, conventionally treated and undertreated elderly patients were identified and their characteristics and outcomes were compared. Both young and old patients presented most frequently with mammographic findings, but older patients presented more frequently with mammographic masses while younger patients presented more frequently with mammographic calcifications. Cancers of older patients were significantly more favorable than cancers in younger patients: smaller, with more infiltrating lobular, fewer ductal carcinoma in situ, and more frequently estrogen receptor positive and fewer were poorly differentiated. Elderly patients had less axillary sampling, fewer mastectomies, less adjuvant radiation therapy, and more hormonal therapy. Fifty-one percent of the 382 elderly patients were undertreated by conventional criteria. Undertreated patients were more frequently in situ, better differentiated, smaller, and more often estrogen receptor positive. Forty-four percent of the undertreated patients died during followup without disease recurrence. Despite undertreatment, local and distant disease-free survival was comparable to patients who were not undertreated.

Population-based study of breast cancer in older women: prognostic factors of relative survival and predictors of treatment

Background

A large proportion of women with breast cancer (BC) are elderly. However, there is a lack of information regarding BC prognostic factors and care in this population. The aims of this study were to assess the prognostic factors of relative survival (RS) among women with BC aged ≥ 75 years old and to identify the predictive factors of treatments administered to this population.

Methods

A population-based study was performed using data from the Cote d’Or breast and gynaecological cancer registry. Women aged 75 years and older with primary invasive BC and resident in Cote d’Or at the time of diagnosis made between January 1998 and December 2008 were retrospectively selected. Prognostic factors of RS were estimated in a generalized linear model with a Poisson error structure. RS rate for the whole population was given at 5 years. Logistic regression models were used to identify the predictors of the treatments administered.

Results

Six hundred and eighty-one women were included. Median age at diagnosis was 80. Comorbidities (p=0.02), pT stage (p=0.04), metastases (p=<0.001), having a family doctor (p=0.03) and hormone-receptor status (p=0.006) were independent prognostic factors of RS. The RS rate at 5 years for the whole population was 78.2%, 95%CI = [72.2-83.0]. Age, pT stage, metastases, histoprognostic SBR grade, hormone receptor status and comorbidities were frequently found to be predictors of treatment with surgery alone, hormone therapy alone, breast conserving surgery plus adjuvant therapy and mastectomy plus adjuvant therapy.

Conclusions

Comorbid conditions adversely affect survival in older women with breast cancer. Moreover the results of this study showed that there are numerous predictors of the type of treatment administered, and that the most important were age and comorbidities.