Abstract
Objective: To explore the distribution of Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score (RS), the proportion of receiving chemotherapy, and the relationship between RS and chemotherapy benefit according to detailed age groups in women with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative, node-negative (HR+/HER2-/N0) breast cancer. Methods: This was an extensive, comprehensive, population-based retrospective study. Data on individuals with breast cancer were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The cohort was divided into five groups by age (≤ 35, 36-50, 51-65, 66-80, >80 years). RS distribution and chemotherapy proportion among different age groups were analyzed, and the overall survivals between patients receiving chemotherapy and those not/unknown were compared in each age group. Results: The study cohort comprised 49,539 patients and the largest age group was 51-65 years. The percentage of patients with low-risk RS (0-10) increased with age, whereas those with intermediate-risk RS (11-25) decreased with age (except for the group of 36-50 years, which had the highest rate of intermediate-risk RS). The age group ≤35 years has the greatest rate of high-risk RS (26-100). The proportion of receiving chemotherapy decreased with age in all RS risk categories. Overall survival was benefited by chemotherapy only in the age group of 66-80 years with intermediate- and high-risk RS, and chemotherapy seemed to do more harm than good for patients older than 80 years. Conclusions: In the present study, we identified the distribution of RS, the proportion of receiving chemotherapy, and the relationship between RS and chemotherapy benefit according to a detailed age grouping for women with HR+/HER2-/N0 breast cancer, which may help in making individualized clinical decisions.