Mammary Carcinoma in Old Age

Abstract

The significance of advanced age in the prognosis of mammary carcinoma in a series of 556 cases is analyzed. All the patients are classified pre-operatively according to Columbia Clinical Classification and treated by standardized radical mastectomy. No case was lost in follow up. The 5- and 10-year results show a better prognosis in older women (65 years of age and older) than in younger patients. The difference is more evident in relatively advanced but still operable cases. Analysis of the patients who succumbed to the disease before the end of the 10-year period indicate a lesser degree of malignancy of mammary carcinoma in old age. The data show that the first evidence of persistent disease appeared more than 1 year later in the elderly group. It is concluded that with careful pre- and postoperative care radical mastectomy is the treatment of choice for operable mammary carcinoma in the aged.