Breast Cancer in the Elderly
Jul 21 2011
By Ryan Acosta, Staff Writer
Last year, the whole world was stunned by the sudden outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus. Governments worldwide imposed quarantines and strict preventive measures to curb possible massive outbreaks. Laboratories rushed to produce vaccines. After vaccines were developed and rolled out of laboratories, hordes of apprehensive people lined up in hospitals and clinics to get swine flu shots.
Humans have a primordial fear of infectious diseases. Indeed, highly contagious diseases like swine flu deserved to be taken seriously. However, there are other diseases that cause far more deaths compared to new infectious diseases like swine flu.
Cancer, for instance, takes about 7.4 million lives per year worldwide, about 13% of all deaths according to the World Health Organization. And the majority of these deaths come from one serious type of cancer: breast cancer.
Incidence of Breast Cancer in the Elderly
Breast cancer is indeed one of the most prevalent forms of cancers in the world. In the US alone, about 191,410 women were diagnosed with breast cancer last 2006. And the majority of these breast cancer patients are elderly women.
Breast cancer may affect young women, but it is more common in the elderly. According to the National Cancer Institute, three out of four women aged 60 years old today may get breast cancer by the time they reach 70. Although the most aggressive forms of breast cancer typically affect younger women, breast cancer is still a very serious disease for the elderly. In fact, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in women 65 years old and above.
Treatment
Elderly women with breast cancer can avail of the same treatment available to younger women. Surgery, irradiation, hormonal therapy and use of chemocytotoxic drugs are still the most common form of breast cancer treatments. Treatment generally varies depending on the patient’s breast cancer stage. Sometimes, two or more forms of treatments are prescribed.
The above treatments, however, are not designed to totally prevent or cure breast cancer in the elderly. As with other forms of cancer, there is not yet a definite cure for breast cancer.
A healthy vegetable-and-fruit-based diet along with regular exercise (two and a half hours of physical activity per week) would help in lowering the risks of developing breast cancer in the elderly. Also, limiting alcohol intake and refraining from smoking tobacco would also help minimizing breast cancer risk, especially for post-menopausal women.
On-going Research
As of the moment, there has been no established cause as to why elderly women are much prone to developing breast cancer.
Much of the research that is being conducted right now regarding the development and progression of cancer (including breast cancer) in older women is focused on discovering cellular and molecular mechanisms. For instance, many researchers are focusing on the relationship between cell senescence and cancer.
Despite the current lack of concrete understanding as to the prevalence of breast cancer among elderly women, researchers around the world are doing their best to know more about the relationship between aging and breast cancer.
Time will certainly come when scientists will find the answer that would possibly lead to developments of more effective breast cancer treatments. Help for countless of elderly women suffering from breast cancer will surely come in the future.
References:
American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Facts and Figures: 2005-2006. 2006. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/stt/caff2005brf.pdf.
Horner MJ, Ries LAG, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Howlader N, Altekruse SF, Feuer EJ, Huang L, Mariotto A, Miller BA, Lewis DR, Eisner MP, Stinchcomb DG, Edwards BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2006. National Cancer Institute. 2009. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/results_merged/sect_04_breast.pdf.
Silliman RA, Baeke P. Breast cancer in the Older Woman. In: Balducci L, Ersher WB, Lyman GH. Comprehensive Geriatric Oncology. Amsterdam: Harwood, 1998.
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2006 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute. 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.
World Health Organization. Media Centre: Cancer. 2009. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en.
Posted under: Cancer.
