title: Prognostic factors in elderly patients with breast cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer (BC) remains principally a disease of old ages; with 35-50% of cases occurring in women older than 65 years. Even mortality for cancer increases with aging: 19.7% between 65 and 74 years; 22.6% between 75 and 84 years; and 15.1% in 85 years or more.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search was performed on Medline, Embase, Scopus using the following Key words: Breast cancer, Breast neoplasms, Aged, Elder, Elderly, Eldest, Older, Survival analysis, Prognosis, Prognostic factors, Tumor markers, Biomarkers, Comorbidity, Geriatric assessment, Axilla, Axillary surgery. 3029 studies have been retrieved. Paper in which overall or disease free survival were not end points, or age class was not well defined, or the sample was too small, were excluded. At last 42 papers fulfilled the criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lack of screening and delay in diagnosis may be responsible for the minor improvement in survival observed in elderly respect to younger breast cancer patients. Predictive factors are the same and must be assessed with the same attention reserved to younger women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of elderly patient are fit to undergo standard treatment and can get the same benefits of younger women. Nevertheless it is possible that some older women with early breast cancer can be spared too aggressive treatments. Geriatric assessment and co-morbidities can affect the prognosis modifying surveillance, life expectancy and compliance to therapies. They can thus be useful to select the better treatment, either surgical or radio or hormone - or chemo-therapy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cappellani
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Vita
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zanghì
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavallaro
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Majorana
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbera
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berretta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate