20% of older women just diagnosed with nonmetastatic breast cancer decline and/or die within a year; this effect particularly impacts those with lower educational and socioeconomic status, according to a study involving 206 individuals.

Participants completed the VES-13 prior to neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment. Investigators looked at mortality, as well as decline defined as either a decrease of at least 1 point on the Activities of Daily Living scale and/or the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale. Among the results:

• 34 experienced functional decline, and 7 died.

• The estimated risk of functional decline/death rose to 76% in those with VES-13 score of 10, from 23% for participants with a VES-13 score of 3.

• Those with a high school education or less were nearly 2.5 times as likely to experience functional decline/death (making it an independent predictor of such).

Citation: Owusu C, Margevicius S, Schluchter M, Koroukian S, Schmitz K, Berger N. Vulnerable elders survey and socioeconomic status predict functional decline and death among older women with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic breast cancer. [Published online ahead of print June 27, 2016]. Cancer. doi:10.1002/cncr.30046.