TY - JOUR TI - Patterns and outcomes of breast reconstruction in older women - A systematic review of the literature. AU - Oh DD AU - Flitcroft K AU - Brennan ME AU - Spillane AJ AB - PURPOSE: Older age is associated with lower rates of breast reconstruction (BR) for women requiring mastectomy. The purpose was to assess the available evidence on uptake, outcome and quality of life (QoL) after BR in older women. METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed via Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases using the search terms breast reconstruction, breast cancer, and mastectomy. Eligible studies reported rates of BR, rates of different reconstructive techniques, complication rates, and/or patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) of BR in women aged 60 years or older undergoing mastectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma. RESULTS: A total of 42 eligible studies were included, with 32 of these reporting BR rates, 10 reporting rates of different reconstructive techniques, 10 reporting rates of complications, and four reporting PROMs. The studies reported 24,746 cases of BR in 407,570 mastectomy patients aged 60 years or older from 1987 to 2012. Implant based BR was more common than autologous techniques. Mostly, complication rates were not higher in older women, and QoL outcomes were similar to younger women. CONCLUSIONS: This review confirms that BR rates are lower in older women despite recent studies demonstrating its efficacy. The perception among some surgeons and women requiring mastectomy that the potential risks of BR in older women outweigh the benefits needs to be revisited. Education of consumers and surgeons along with public advocacy for offering BR to all clinically eligible women are the most promising means of changing practice. LA - English T2 - European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology VL - 42 SP - 604-15 IS - 5 SN - 1532-2157 PY - 2016 DA - 2016 DO - 10.1016/j.ejso.2016.02.010 U1 - 26965305[pmid] DB - EPISTEMONIKOS UR - http://www.epistemonikos.org/documents/23ae42b946395b1447c8574b73c07df12d16fb60 ER -