Effect of Age and Other Illnesses on Patients with Breast Cancer

February 21, 2001Deborah Pettibone (716) 845-8593[email protected]

Effect Of Age And Other Illnesses On Patients With Breast Cancer

BUFFALO, NY - Current treatment options may not be adequately meeting the needs of post-menopausal women who develop breast cancer, according to a report published in the February 21, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Jerome W. Yates, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President for Population Sciences at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), is co-author of the report that reviewed the relationship of advanced age, disease stage, treatment and mortality in post-menopausal women with breast cancer.

Previous studies have suggested that age and secondary conditions (comorbidity) strongly influence therapeutic decisions and are associated with less aggressive cancer therapy. "Advanced disease stage, older age and the presence of comorbidities are associated with a higher risk of dying from cancer," said Dr. Yates. "As the baby boomer generation ages, breast cancer will assume greater prominence. Research is needed to determine how advanced age and other disease affects cancer treatment."

This review examined 1,800 post-menopausal women. The age range of participants ranged from 55 to 101. The number of comorbidities, including heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension and arthritis, per individual patient ranged from none to 13. The most prevalent condition was hypertension followed by arthritis.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women (after lung cancer) in the United States. An estimated 192,200 new cases will be diagnosed in 2001, representing almost 31 percent of all cancers diagnosed in women this year. Post-menopausal women are at particular risk as two-thirds of all breast cancer diagnoses occur in women older than 55.

"Age and comorbidity limit diagnostic tests and examinations, narrow treatment options and are associated with early morbidity," continued Dr. Yates. "An estimated 40,000 American women - the majority of whom are post-menopausal - still die of breast cancer each year and that number has dropped only slightly in the last couple of decades. We need to do and learn more about taking care of this population. Future research and clinical trials should evaluate options available to older women."

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Western New York.

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