A RETROSPECTIVE COMPARISON OF DETECTION AND TREATMENT OF BREAST-CANCER IN YOUNG AND ELDERLY PATIENTS

The medical records of all women (297 cases) with breast cancer greate r than or equal to 70 years of age, presenting at our Institute from J anuary 1980 to December 1989, were reviewed. Data from 226 elderly wom en was compared to that from 100 stage-matched patients less than or e qual to 50 years of age, presenting during the same 10-year study inte rval. Conservative surgery was significantly more frequent in young pa tients (71.1%) compared to elderly women (26.1%) and radical mastectom y according to Halsted was undertaken in 34.3% of the elderly group co mpared to 8.9% of young patients (p < 0.001). Since 'incidental' diagn osis was significantly more frequent in the elderly group (59.9% versu s 6.0%) (p < 0.001), primary care physicians may play an important rol e in the early diagnosis of breast cancer in the majority of elderly w omen.