Journal of surgical oncology
October 21, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Rethinking Age Limits in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery: Long-Term Outcomes of Oncoplastic Surgery in Elderly Patients.
Lorenzi F, Miranda S, Pagan E, +6 more, Veronesi P
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Oncoplastic breast surgery appears oncologically safe with acceptable complications in women aged 60 and older, including those 75 and above.
What was studied
Retrospective single-cohort analysis of 303 women aged 60 or older who had oncoplastic surgery in 2001-2014, split into 60-74 and 75+ groups, with median follow-up of 11.4 years.
Key findings
- 5-year and 10-year overall survival were 96.0% and 92.9%.
- 5-year and 10-year disease-free survival were 94.6% and 89.0%.
- Postoperative complications occurred in 15.2% of patients, and 60.7% had comorbidities.
Clinical relevance
Age alone should not exclude older women from oncoplastic techniques that preserve breast shape while achieving oncologic control.
Who should care
Limitations
Retrospective and uncontrolled with only 16 patients aged 75 or older, so conclusions about the oldest group are weak.
Offer oncoplastic options to fit older patients based on health and preference rather than chronologic age.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND METHODS
Although OBS is a well-established approach, evidence regarding its long-term safety and outcomes in older women remains limited. We performed a retrospective analysis to identify patients ≥ 60 years who underwent OBS for breast cancer between 2001 and 2014. Patients were stratified into two age groups: elderly (60-74 years) and senior (≥ 75 years). Primary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and local recurrence rates. Secondary endpoints included post-operative complication rates and distribution of OBS techniques according to age group.
RESULTS
303 patients were identified, 287 (94.7%) elderly and 16 (5.3%) senior. Most patients (60.7%) had comorbidities. Fifteen patients had bilateral tumors, for a total of 318 operated breasts. Breast cancer was staged as Tis, T0, T1, T2, and T3 respectively in 15.1%, 1.3%, 48.1%, 33.3%, and 0.9% of breasts. Multicentricity and multifocality were reported in 6.6% and 12.3% of cases, respectively. Postoperative complications were recorded in 15.2% of patients. Median follow-up time was 11.4 years. 5-year and 10-year OS were respectively 96.0% and 92.9%; 5-year and 10-year DFS were respectively 94.6% and 89.0%.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support the oncologic safety and feasibility of OBS in elderly patients, demonstrating acceptable complication rates and oncologic outcomes.
DOI
10.1002/jso.70388
PMID
42904497
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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