title: Patient and provider characteristics that affect the use of axillary dissection in older women with stage I-II breast carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Axillary dissection for the evaluation and treatment of patients with breast carcinoma often is not performed in older women. The objective of this study was to examine patient, clinical, and surgeon characteristics associated with the use of axillary dissection after breast-conserving surgery (BCS).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 464 women age > or = 67 years who were newly diagnosed with Stage I-II breast carcinoma and who underwent BCS were surveyed along with their 158 surgeons, and their medical records were reviewed. Patient, tumor, and provider characteristics were examined for association with the omission of axillary dissection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of women (63.4%) underwent axillary lymph node dissection after BCS. Increasing age was associated strongly with decreasing odds of undergoing axillary lymph node dissection, even after considering patient health and preferences, clinical factors, and provider factors (odds ratio [OR], 0.11; 95% confidence interval [95%CI], 0.05-0.27). Independent of age and other factors, women in the lowest quartile of physical functioning were 37% less likely to undergo axillary lymph node dissection compared with women in the highest quartile (OR, 0.63; 95%CI, 0.62-0.64). Patients who were cared for by surgeons with subspecialty training in oncology were 60% less likely to undergo axillary lymph node dissection compared with patients who were cared for by other surgeons, even after considering other factors (OR, 0.41; 95%CI, 0.25-0.68).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study demonstrated a correlation between lower use of axillary dissection and advancing age, lower functional status, and greater surgeon training. These findings suggest that simple, age-based considerations are important but are not the sole determinants of variations in treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Edge
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Christine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Neal J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Meropol
authors.forename: Theodore N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Tsangaris
authors.forename: Luther
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Bert M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Yi-ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Jeanne S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Mandelblatt
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015412:Mastectomy, Segmental; D009367:Neoplasm Staging