Elderly women undertreated?(tamoxifen breast cancer undertreatment)

2003 JAN 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Elderly women with breast cancer are undertreated with tamoxifen, the recommended postsurgical therapy for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer for women of all ages, possibly putting older women at increased risk of disease recurrence and death.

Findings in a recent study indicate that elderly women over 85 years old were less likely than women between 80 and 84 years of age to receive a tamoxifen prescription.

Women over 79 years of age account for 13% of new diagnoses of breast cancer, but, disproportionately, 27% of the breast cancer-specific deaths. Tamoxifen, an estrogen receptor antagonist, is recommended for women of all ages diagnosed with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive or ER-indeterminate breast tumors following surgical treatment. Evidence shows it significantly improves 10-year survival and benefits have been shown in women 70 years old or older.

A recent study demonstrated that women aged 80 and older were three times less likely to receive the follow-up radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery than women 67-79 years old. Few studies have yet to investigate patterns of tamoxifen use in older women and no study has yet to investigate patterns in women over age 79 years.

Blackman et al. studied 92 women between the ages of 80 and 92 years with ER-positive and ER-indeterminate breast cancer diagnosed between 1996 and 1999. Their results were published in the December 15, 2002, issue of Cancer. Data were collected regarding demographic information, such as age, race, marital status, living children, family and economic support as well as functional status and the influence of information about tamoxifen on the patient's own decision making about tamoxifen treatment. Medical history was also collected and included the number and type of ...