CLINICAL AND PATHOHISTOLOGICAL FEATURES OF BREAST CANCER IN ELDERLY WOMEN

Breast cancer in elderly women is the major health issue and therapeutic challenge. The aim of the study was to determine specific characteristics of breast cancer biology in elderly patients. Retrospectively, we followed: breast cancer clinical and pathohistological characteristics of patients treated during the 5-year period at the Surgical Clinic in Nis. Patients were divided into study (≥65 years) and control group (<65 years) The study involved 1098 women (431 from the study group; 667 from the control group). The mean age was 71, 3 years in the study group, and 50, 7 years in the control group. Ductal carcinoma was the most frequently observed histological early-stage type (70,3% vs. 61,92%; p = 0.5236). The majority of our patients presented with an early-stage disease (69,02% vs. 60,20%). Estrogen receptor positive tumors occurred in 67.88% of elderly patients versus 28.42% of young cases (p < 1x10-8), while negative axillary lymph nodes were observed in 45,78% and 34,40% of patients in the elderly and young group, respectively. There are some clinical and pathohistological breast cancer specifics in elderly patients. This study showed similar pathohistological tumor characteristics. Our results confirm that elderly patients present with more favorable prognostic factors (estrogen receptor positive tumors, negative axillary lymph nodes).