Primary endocrine therapy for early operable primary breast cancer in elderly women: A large series from a single institution

630 Background: A recent Cochrane review of seven randomised trials involving 1,446 elderly women (unselected for oestrogen receptor (ER) status) has shown no significant difference in overall survival between surgery (with or without adjuvant tamoxifen) and primary endocrine therapy using tamoxifen. We report our experience of using primary endocrine therapy in a single centre with a dedicated elderly breast cancer service. Methods: Over a 20-year period, 825 elderly (>70 years) women with early operable primary breast cancer were treated with primary endocrine therapy (>80% using tamoxifen as first-line agent), due to patient choice or being unfit for surgery. All patients had disease assessable for response according to UICC criteria, and had treatment for ≥6 months unless the disease progressed prior. Results: Median age was 80 (range: 70–99) years. When the disease progressed, some patients received further lines of therapy and the overall results are summarised (Table). Conclusions: Compared to the ...