Objective: This study analyses the clinicopathologic features and hormone receptor level of breast cancer in aged patients (> or = 60 years) and explores the related factors of the prognosis.
Methods: For all patients, the clinical data and pathologic data were reviewed retrospectively. Follow-up data were available. Of the 308 cases, tumor specimens in 130 patients were subjected to hormone receptor analysis by a dextran-coated charcoal technique.
Results: Of the 308 cases, 82 cases were in stage I, 147 cases in stage II, 66 cases in stage III, and 13 cases in stage IV. Metastatic rate (axillary lymph nodes) was 35.7%. The overall postoperative 5- and 10-year survival rates were 70.8% and 50.5%, respectively. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor positive rates were 66.9% and 40.0%, respectively. The survival rate was decreased with the increasing grade of TNM (P < 0.01). The mortality rate of the breast cancer was related to the clinical stage and the hormone receptor level (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: There was a relatively good prognosis in this series. The size of tumor, number of metastatic nodes and hormone receptor level were related to the prognosis.