Key clinical point: In women aged 70 or older, there are skeptical views on age-based guidelines for breast cancer treatment and difficulty in interpretating the rationale for treatment de-escalation in low-risk, early-stage hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.
Major finding: Approximately 40% of participants stated they would proceed with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) despite evidence that omission is safe. Conversely, 73% stated they would omit postlumpectomy radiotherapy.
Study details: A qualitative study with 30 female participants, with a median age of 72 years and without a previous diagnosis of breast cancer.
Disclosures: Dr Jagsi reported receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Komen Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium, and Genentech; grants and personal fees from Greenwall Foundation; personal fees from Amgen, Vizient, Sherinian & Hassostock, and Dressman, Benziger, and Lavelle; and options as compensation for her advisory board role from Equity Quotient; she also reported being an uncompensated founding member of TIME’S UP Healthcare and a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Board of Directors. No other disclosures were reported.
Source: Wang, T, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(9):e2017129. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.17129