Use of adjuvant systemic therapy for early breast cancer among women 65 years of age and older.

Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus statement recommends adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer irrespective of age. However, the actual use of such therapy is not well documented among women over 65 years of age.

Methods: We studied the frequency of use of adjuvant therapy and report the receipt of this therapy among 200 women aged > or = 65 years diagnosed with early breast cancer who were identified from the New Jersey State Cancer Registry.

Results: In this population, 28% of patients received chemotherapy alone or in combination with hormonal therapy, whereas 42% received hormonal therapy alone. Less than half of the women with estrogen receptor-negative tumors received chemotherapy alone or in combination with hormonal treatment. Adjuvant therapy was not prescribed in 30% of patients.

Conclusions: Despite NIH recommendations, the frequency of use of adjuvant therapy in New Jersey is low among women over 65 years of age, regardless of their receptor status.