Tailored breast cancer care for older women gains momentum as researchers highlight age-specific tumor differences

Older women represent a large share of breast cancer diagnoses, with nearly half of cases occurring in patients 65 or older and about one-fifth in those 75 and older.

Despite these numbers, clinical trials for breast cancer rarely include seniors; a recent analysis found only 9% of trial participants were 65+ years old, leaving physicians with limited data on how drugs work in this age group.

Cancer biologist and first-year resident Neil Carleton at Brigham and Women’s Hospital says tumors in older patients can behave differently because of changes in hormone levels and inflammation, making a one-size-fits-all, age-agnostic approach suboptimal.

Carleton, recently recognized as a STAT Wunderkind, is working to generate evidence that more personalized treatment strategies could improve outcomes for older women, aiming to inform future guidelines and clinical practice.