Table 1.
Characteristics of older patients with non-metastatic breast cancer at enrollment, prior to systemic therapy (n = 705)
| Percent (n) or mean (SD) | |
|---|---|
| Age | 68.0 (5.8), range 60–98 |
| Racea | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 79% (558) |
| Non-White | 18% (124) |
| Hispanic | 3% (23) |
| Years of education | 15.3 (2.2) |
| Number of comorbidities | 2.8 (2.0) |
| Surgery | |
| Mastectomy | 32.6% (228) |
| Lumpectomy | 67.4% (471) |
| Time from surgery to enrollment, days | 44.2 days (51.4) |
| STAI-A Anxiety above cutoff (> 44)b | 6.1% (40) |
| CES-D score indicting depression (≥ 16)c | 12.6% (81) |
| HER2 positivityd | |
| Negative | 89.3% (552) |
| Positive | 10.7% (66) |
| Hormone receptor statuse | |
| Positive | 88.6% (620) |
| Negative | 11.4% (80) |
| Triple negative status (ER−, HER2−, PR−) | |
| Not triple negative | 91.9% (634) |
| Triple negative | 8.1% (56) |
| Tumor grade | |
| Low | 20.1% (110) |
| Moderate | 61.1% (334) |
| High | 18.8% (103) |
| Lymph node | |
| Negative | 82.2% (560) |
| Positive | 17.8% (121) |
| Tumor size | |
| < 2 cm | 71.5% (487) |
| 2 + cm | 28.5% (194) |
| AJCC v. 6 stage | |
| Stage 0/II | 72.6% (504) |
| Stage II/III | 27.4% (190) |
Non-White includes Black and Asian
Scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory range from 20 to 80, with higher scores reflecting more anxiety. A cut point of > 44 is used to define clinical anxiety
Scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale range from 0 to 60, with higher scores representing more depressive symptoms; a cut point of 16 is used to define clinical depression
HER2 positivity was defined as scoring 3 + on HER2 IHC, or tested positive on HER2 FISH, or going on to receive Herceptin treatment
Hormone receptor positive was defined as being estrogen receptor (ER) positive and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positive