Distinct Postsurgical Management in Young and Elderly Breast Cancer Patients Results in Equal Survival Rates

Background: Although breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant diseases in women, the majority of the studies describing the characteristics of BC in elderly patients have been limited to survival assessments or tumor features, without using younger BC patients as a reference group. The aim of our study was to describe and compare tumor characteristics and management patterns in elderly versus younger breast cancer patients in Turkey. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 152 patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent surgery in our institution between 2002 and 2012. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to age at the time of diagnosis. Results: There were 62 patients in the elderly group (>= 65 years) and 90 patients in the younger group (0.001). There were no significant differences regarding histology, localization, lymph node involvement, or types of surgical procedures between the 2 groups. Comorbidities were more common in elderly patients (p<0.001). In addition, elderly patients were more likely to receive hormonal therapy (p