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Information Needs of Older Women Faced with a Choice of Primary Endocrine Therapy or Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Literature Review

  • Psycho-Oncology and Supportive Care (P Butow, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Primary endocrine therapy (PET) as an alternative to surgery is widely used in the UK for the treatment of older women with operable breast cancer. For women over 70 it has equivalent overall survival to surgery, although local control rates may be inferior. There are trade-offs to be made in deciding between surgery and PET. There has been little research to investigate the information needs of older women or the involvement in decision making they wish to have when faced with this breast-cancer treatment decision. This review examines the information needs of older women (>65 years) regarding the use of surgery or PET for treating operable primary breast cancer, and identifies their preferred format and media for the presentation of this information. The preference for involvement in treatment decision-making among this group will also be considered.

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Conflict of Interest

Maria Burton, Karen Collins, Lynda Wyld, and Malcolm Reed declare that they have no conflict of interest. Lisa JM Caldon reports grants from NIHR, during the conduct of the study.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Montgomery House, 32 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2BP, UK

    Maria Burton & Karen Collins

  2. Academic Unit of Surgical Oncology, University of Sheffield, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2JF, UK

    Lisa J. M. Caldon, Lynda Wyld & Malcolm W. R. Reed

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  1. Maria Burton
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  2. Karen Collins
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  3. Lisa J. M. Caldon
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Correspondence to Maria Burton.

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Burton, M., Collins, K., Caldon, L.J.M. et al. Information Needs of Older Women Faced with a Choice of Primary Endocrine Therapy or Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Literature Review. Curr Breast Cancer Rep 6, 235–244 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12609-014-0159-7

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