Association between perceived benefits and receipt of radiotherapy among older breast cancer patients

Abstract

While radiotherapy can be safely omitted in many older women with early‐stage breast cancer after lumpectomy, approximately two‐thirds of eligible women still undergo this treatment. We surveyed 63 older women with stage I (T1N0M0), estrogen‐receptor‐positive breast cancer who underwent lumpectomy, and were considering/receiving radiotherapy. Participants perceived that radiotherapy would reduce their 10‐year risk of local recurrence by an average of 18.7%, which is significantly higher than the 8% risk reduction reported in literature. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that participants who reported a large perceived benefit were significantly more likely to undergo radiotherapy treatment (odds ratio 10.34; 95% confidence interval: 1.66‐66.35).