The effect of age in the outcome and treatment of older women with ductal carcinoma in situ

The effect of increasing age on outcomes and type of treatment given to older women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was assessed. 646 women ≥60 years old (654 cases) receiving surgery for DCIS at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 2000 and 2007 (8 bilateral) had wide local excision (WLE; 37%), WLE plus radiotherapy (WLE + RT; 41%), or mastectomy (22%). 45%, 38%, and 16% of patients 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and ≥80 years, respectively, received WLE + RT (P < 0.001) and 25%, 20%, and 13%, received mastectomy, respectively (P < 0.001). Age (P < 0.001), grade (P < 0.001), and necrosis (P < 0.01) were highly associated with treatment. Four-year local recurrence was 3.6%. Overall local recurrence differed by treatment (mastectomy, 0%; WLE, 5%; WLE + RT, 4%; P < 0.00001) but not age. It is possible to identify older women with DCIS in whom the risk of recurrence is acceptably low after WLE alone. WLE alone may be a viable treatment option for select older women with DCIS.