Breast radiotherapy in elderly women: myths, controversies, and current techniques in the adjuvant setting

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer in women in developed countries (1). The probability of developing BC increases with age. The majority of cases occur in women over age 60, with women over age 70 and 80, respectively, accounting for 30% and 12% of diagnoses (2,3). BC-related deaths have decreased drastically since the 1990s, although the main beneficiaries of this reduction are women under age 75, with cancer-specific mortality decreasing by 2.5% per year in women <75 years since the 1990s, but only by 1.1% per annum in older women (4). In Europe, the overall mortality rate decreased by 13% from the 1990–1994 period to the 2000–2004 period, with a significantly greater reduction in mortality among women under age 65 versus older women (17% vs. 6%, respectively) (5)