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. 2012 Mar;60(3):538-44.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03820.x. Epub 2012 Jan 27.

Factors noted to affect breast cancer treatment decisions of women aged 80 and older

Mara A Schonberg  1 , Rebecca A Silliman, Ellen P McCarthy, Edward R Marcantonio
Affiliations

Factors noted to affect breast cancer treatment decisions of women aged 80 and older

Mara A Schonberg et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: To identify factors that influence the breast cancer treatment decisions of women aged 80 and older.

Design: Medical record review.

Setting: One academic primary care clinic and two community health centers in Boston.

Participants: Sixty-five women aged 80 and older diagnosed with breast cancer between 1994 and 2004 and followed through June 30, 2010.

Measurements: Data were abstracted on breast cancer characteristics, comorbidities, treatments received, and outcomes. Notes from primary care physicians, oncologists, and breast surgeons were reviewed to determine factors involved in treatment decision-making.

Results: Median age at diagnosis was 84.0 (interquartile range 82.0-86.3), 55 (84.6%) were non-Hispanic white, and 40 (61.5%) had at least one comorbidity. Nine women were diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, 42 with a new primary invasive breast cancer, eight with a second primary, and six with a breast cancer recurrence. Sixty-three (96.9%) received some type of treatment. Fifty-six (86.2%) had at least one detailed physician note on treatment decision-making in their charts. The main categories found to influence participant, family, and physician treatment decision-making were tumor characteristics, ratio of treatment benefits to risks, logistics (e.g., transportation, finances), and participant age, health (including a concurrent diagnosis), and psychosocial characteristics. Family was involved in treatment discussions for 46 (70.8%) participants.

Conclusion: The quality of physician documentation about decision-making in these women was high. A great amount of thoughtful and complex decision-making involving patients, family, and physicians occurs after a woman aged 80 and older is diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Factors Noted to Affect Breast Cancer Treatment Decision-Making Among Women Aged 80 and Older *The triangle represents the decision-making process. The circles represent the people involved in the decision-making. The squares include factors influencing decision-making.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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