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Introduction: Elderly breast cancer patients have been shown to be managed less aggressively than younger patients. There is evidence that their management varies between institutions. We audited the management of elderly patients in two neighboring units in Glasgow and aimed to identify reasons for any differences in practice found. Methods: Patients aged ≥70 years, who were managed for a new diagnosis of breast cancer in the two units between 2009 and 2013, were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Tumor pathology, treatment details, postcode and consultant in charge of care were obtained from the same database. Comorbidities were obtained from each patient’s electronic clinical record. Questionnaires were distributed to members of each multidisciplinary teams. Results: 487 elderly patients in Unit 1 and 467 in Unit 2 were identified. 76.2% patients in Unit 1 were managed surgically compared to 63.7% in Unit 2 (p70 years with breast cancer were managed surgically in Unit 1 compared to Unit 2. Reasons for variation in practice seem to be related to attitudes of medical professionals toward surgery in the elderly, rather than patient or pathological factors.

This study investigates post-operative photographic assessment in determining the cosmetic outcome of 74 breast cancer patients who underwent a breast lumpectomy and radiotherapy. Using 10 of these patients picked at random, comparison was made between a conventional photographic print, a print produced from a digital image, and a digital image viewed on a computer screen in terms of personal preference for clinical assessment. The cosmetic outcome scores obtained on the basis of these images were compared with cosmetic outcome scores obtained by direct observation both by the clinician and by the patient. In the analysis of image preference, conventional prints scored highest, but each of the image types was considered to be acceptable for assessing breast cosmesis. Statistical analysis of the cosmetic outcome scores proved that there was a significant correlation between the scores obtained from the images and the scores obtained by direct observation both by the clinician and by the patient.