Impact of radiotherapy on the quality of life of elderly patients with localized breast cancer. A prospective study.
BACKGROUND
There are few studies on the effect on quality of life (QL) of cancer-related illness and treatment in elderly patients. The aim of this work was to evaluate prospectively QL in a sample of elderly patients with stages I.III breast cancer who started radiotherapy treatment and compare their QL with that of a sample of younger patients.


METHODS
Forty-eight patients, > or = 65 years of age completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QL questionnaires QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23, and the Interview for Deterioration in Daily Living Activities in Dementia (IDDD) daily activities scale three times throughout treatment and follow-up periods. Clinical and demographic data were also recorded. Fifty patients ages 40-64 years with the same disease stage and treatment modality had previously completed the QL questionnaires. QL scores, changes in them among the three assessments, differences between groups based on clinical factors, and differences between the two samples were calculated.


RESULTS
QL scoring was good and stable (>70/100 points) in most areas, in line with clinical data. Light and moderate limitations occurred in global QL and some emotional, sexual, and treatment-related areas. Moderate decreases (10-20) appeared in some toxicity-related areas, which recovered during the follow-up period. Breast-conservation and sentinel-node patients presented higher scores in emotional areas. There were few QL differences among agebased samples.


CONCLUSIONS
QL and clinical data indicate radiotherapy was well tolerated. Age should not be the only factor evaluated when deciding upon treatment for breast cancer patients.
Arraras
Juan Ignacio
JI
Radiotherapeutic Oncology Department, Hospital of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain. jiarraras@correo.cop.es
Manterola
Ana
A
Domínguez
Miguel Angel
MA
Arias
Fernando
F
Villafranca
Elena
E
Romero
Pilar
P
Martínez
Enrique
E
Illarramendi
José Juan
JJ
Salgado
Esteban
E
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires