EFFECT OF AGE ON THE SURVIVAL OF BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

Despite numerous studies, the effect of patient age on the prognosis o f breast cancer is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to asses s the influence of age on long-term relative survival, to control the results for the extent of disease at diagnosis and assess the associat ion between biological markers and age of the patients. A population-b ased survival study was made to assess the 5- and 10-year relative sur vival. All 17 856 female breast cancer patients diagnosed in Finland a nd reported to the Finnish Cancer Registry in 1977-1986 were included. The results were controlled for the extent of the disease. The marker s of biological aggressiveness of tumours and patients' age were corre lated in a prospectively collected subset of 2107 patients from the Ta mpere University area. The relative 5-year and 10-year survival rates (RSRs) were highest in women 46-50 years of age, whereas there was no significant difference between younger and older age groups. No consis tent survival trends were observed among the age groups in local, node -negative disease, whereas in node-positive disease the 10-year relati ve survival was best for women 41-45 years (49%) and poorest in women over 75 years (35%). The youngest age groups were significantly more o ften oestrogen receptor-negative, but only small differences were obse rved for S-phase fraction and progesterone receptor positivity. (C) 19 97 Elsevier Science Ltd.