Department of Surgery, University of Hong Kong Medical Centre, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR.
Asian J Surg. 2010 Apr;33(2):97-102. doi: 10.1016/S1015-9584(10)60017-6.
Age is a known risk factor for breast cancer behaviour. We studied the relationship of age with clinical characteristics, tumour pathology, therapeutic options and outcome in an affluent Asian population.
From 2003 to 2008, data on newly diagnosed breast carcinoma patients under the care of the multidisciplinary breast cancer team based at a private hospital in Hong Kong were collected prospectively. Patients were divided into three groups: age < 40 years (group I), 41-69 years (group II), and ≥ 70 years (group III).
There were 2,079 patients: 334 in group I, 1,538 in group II and 148 in group III. The clinical presentation and tumour stages were similar. Younger patients had higher tumour grading (p = 0.000) and more lymphovascular permeation (p = 0.011). For older patients, combination therapy was employed less frequently (p < 0.0005), and more radical resection with less reconstructive procedures were performed (p = 0.000). The 3-year disease-free survival was 97.8% and there was no difference between the three groups.
Although breast cancer in younger Chinese patients was more aggressive pathologically, the differences between clinical presentation, tumour staging and survival were similar. Treatment strategies should follow the clinical condition of the patient rather than age alone.
年龄是乳腺癌行为的已知危险因素。我们研究了在一个富裕的亚洲人群中，年龄与临床特征、肿瘤病理学、治疗选择和结果的关系。
从 2003 年到 2008 年，收集了在香港一家私立医院的多学科乳腺癌团队治疗下的新诊断乳腺癌患者的数据。患者被分为三组：年龄<40 岁（I 组）、41-69 岁（II 组）和≥70 岁（III 组）。
共有 2079 名患者：I 组 334 名，II 组 1538 名，III 组 148 名。临床表现和肿瘤分期相似。年轻患者的肿瘤分级更高（p=0.000），淋巴血管渗透更多（p=0.011）。对于老年患者，联合治疗的使用频率较低（p<0.0005），更多的根治性切除和较少的重建手术（p=0.000）。3 年无病生存率为 97.8%，三组之间无差异。
尽管年轻的中国乳腺癌患者的病理侵袭性更强，但在临床表现、肿瘤分期和生存方面的差异相似。治疗策略应根据患者的临床情况，而不仅仅是年龄来决定。
