Older Breast Cancer Patients Face Inconsistent Bone Care
Bone health management for older women with breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) varied substantially across five UK hospitals. Despite the higher risk for fractures, women older than 80 years were less likely to receive DEXA scans or bisphosphonates, highlighting the urgent need for standardised bone monitoring and treatment in frail older patients.
METHODOLOGY:
This secondary analysis of the multicentre Age Gap study included 529 women (age, ≥ 70 years) with oestrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer who received AIs, either as primary or adjuvant treatment, at five hospitals in the UK.
Researchers collected comprehensive data including the type of endocrine therapy, DEXA scan results, bisphosphonate usage, calcium and vitamin D supplementation, and the incidence of fractures during or after AI therapy.
Frailty was assessed using a modified Rockwood Frailty Index, with scores being calculated across 75 variables to categorise patients as robust (< 0.08), prefrail (0.08-0.25), or frail (> 0.25).
TAKEAWAY:
Overall, 67% of patients had baseline DEXA scans. Of these, 42% were osteopenic and 18% osteoporotic. Scans were more common in 70- to 79-year-olds than in those aged 80 years or older and in women undergoing surgery than in those undergoing primary endocrine therapy, with marked variation across centres (P < .001 for all).
Among patients receiving AI therapy, 43% were prescribed bisphosphonates, especially those who had surgery (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; P = .04) and those aged 70-79 years (HR, 1.31; P = .02); 33% had vitamin D plus calcium along with bisphosphonates.
During follow-up, 23% of patients had fractures, with significant variation across centres (P = .02), and 38% of these patients had received prior bisphosphonates.
Although 94% of patients were frail or prefrail, frailty did not correlate with baseline hip (P = .10) or spine (P = .89) T scores. Bisphosphonates plus AIs were prescribed in 70% of non-frail participants vs 43% of prefrail and 47% of frail participants (P = .02).
IN PRACTICE:
"Patient's age and general health influence bone health decision making, with older and frailer patients often receiving non-standard care. Despite national and international recommendations, there is still wide variation in bone health management, highlighting the need for further education and standardised bone health care in older women with breast cancer," the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Elisavet Theodoulou, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England. It was published online on July 18, 2025, in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology.
LIMITATIONS:
The study's inclusion of only five hospital sites limited the ability to draw broader conclusions about bone health management practices across a wider range of centres. Additionally, the interpretation of the results was complicated by the introduction of adjuvant bisphosphonates during the study period, making the cohort unstable in terms of bisphosphonate usage indications.
DISCLOSURES:
The Age Gap study was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Programme Grants for Applied Research. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
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