Issues in the Curative Therapy of Breast Cancer in Elderly Women

Challenges Facing Radiation Oncologists in The Management of Older Cancer Patients: Consensus of The International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group

The management of older cancer patients remains difficult because of data paucity. Radiation oncologists need to identify potential issues which could affect treatment of those patients. A workshop was organized in Barcelona among international radiation oncologists with special interest in the management of older cancer patients on April 22, 2018. The following consensus was reached: 1. Older cancer patients often faced unconscious discriminating bias from cancer specialists and institutions because of their chronological age. 2. Advances in radiotherapy techniques have allowed patients with multiple co-morbidities precluding surgery or systemic therapy to achieve potential cure in early disease stages. 3. The lack of biomarkers for frailty remains an impediment to future research. 4. Access to healthcare insurance and daily transportation remains an issue in many countries; 5. Hypofractionation, brachytherapy, or stereotactic techniques may be ideally suited for older cancer patients to minimize transportation issues and to improve tolerance to radiotherapy. 6. Patients with locally advanced disease who are mentally and physically fit should receive combined therapy for potential cure. 7. The role of systemic therapy alone or combined with radiotherapy for frail patients needs to be defined in future clinical trials because of targeted agents or immunotherapy may be less toxic compared to conventional chemotherapy.

Early-Stage Breast Cancer in the Elderly: Confronting an Old Clinical Problem

Breast cancer generally develops in older women and its incidence is continuing to increase with increasing age of the population. The pathology and biology of breast cancer seem to be different in the elderly, often resulting in the undertreatment of elderly patients and thus in higher rates of recurrence and mortal-ity. The aim of this review is to describe the differences in the biology and treatment of early breast cancer in the elderly as well as the use of geriatric assessment methods that aid decision-making. Provided there are no contraindications, the cornerstone of treatment should be surgery, as the safety and efficacy of surgical resection in elderly women have been well documented. Because most breast cancers in the elderly are hormone responsive, hormonal therapy remains the mainstay of systemic treatment in the adjuvant setting. The role of chemotherapy is limited to patients who test negative for hormone receptors and demonstrate an aggressive tumor profile. Although the prognosis of breast cancer patients has generally improved during the last few decades, there is still a demand for evidence-based optimization of therapeutic interventions in older patients.

Treating Elderly Patients With Hormone Receptor-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer

As the overall population ages, the proportion of elderly patients (aged ≥65 years) with breast cancer also increases. Studies have shown that elderly patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer can derive as much benefit from treatment as do younger patients, yet they remain underrepresented in clinical trials and are often undertreated in clinical practice. Treatment decisions for older patients should not be based solely on chronologic age; a patient’s physiologic functioning and comorbidities must also be taken into consideration. For recurrent or metastatic disease, systemic treatment with endocrine therapies or chemotherapy may prolong a patient’s life and alleviate troublesome symptoms. Resistance to therapy remains a problem in the advanced breast cancer setting, with most patients eventually becoming resistant to additional treatment. New combination regimens that target multiple pathways, such as everolimus plus exemestane, have shown efficacy in elderly patients previously resistant to endocrine therapies, and future research may need to focus on such combinations in order to improve outcomes in this patient group. A number of investigational agents are in clinical development, although few studies identify their effects in the elderly patient population. Optimizing effective yet tolerable therapeutic regimens for elderly patients could improve their outcomes while ensuring that the goals of improved survival and quality of life are considered.