Challenges in the treatment of older breast cancer patients.

As the population ages, oncologists will be faced with managing an exploding number of older patients with breast cancer. The primary challenge of caring for older cancer patients is providing treatment options that maximize long-term survival while accounting for comorbidities, life expectancy, and effects of treatment. There is a paucity of data from trials on the risks and benefits of effective treatments in elderly breast cancer patients. This article discusses how to evaluate older breast cancer patients and provides guidelines for optimal therapies in the adjuvant and metastatic treatment settings.