Pros and cons of radiotherapy omission in elderly breast cancer patients following breast conservative surgery.

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer is a highly prevalent disease worldwide, with adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) being considered standard of care after breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Older patient population can present multiple running comorbidities and less aggressive tumor behavior, and the absolute impact of adjuvant RT on local control can be low. This article aims to review the available literature about the impact of adjuvant RT, discussing characteristics to identify lower risk cases, and advantages and disadvantages of the omission of adjuvant radiotherapy in this group.