Adjuvant therapy in elderly patients with breast cancer.
The elderly population has been neglected by the traditional approach to clinical breast cancer research. Elderly women have been underrepresented in breast cancer clinical trials, with the majority of studies being restricted to patients aged < 70 years. Elderly patients frequently have comorbidities and/or impaired organ function. These facts may often lead to death from causes other than cancer, thus nullifying any possible benefit of adjuvant treatment; furthermore, they render extrapolation of standard treatment recommendations to the elderly potentially hazardous, particularly with respect to chemotherapy. Therefore, specific clinical trials are needed to investigate adjuvant treatments tailored for the heterogeneous older population.
Biganzoli
Laura
L
"Sandro Pitigliani" Medical Oncology Unit, Hospital of Prato, Italy. lbiganzoli@usl4.toscana.it
Aapro
Matti
M
Balducci
Lodovico
L
Crivellari
Diana
D
Minisini
Alessandro
A
Piccart
Martine
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents