As a result, Dr. Owusu has proposed to conduct this longitudinal study of 200 women 65 years of age and older who have been newly diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer recruited from ambulatory surgical and medical oncology clinics of the University Hospitals Case Medical Center and community satellite facilities, in Cleveland, Ohio. Following enrollment, women will be followed prospectively for 12 months to complete study procedures at several time points as follows: at study entry, post-treatment (primary surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy), six months and twelve months (study completion).

As a first step, Dr. Owusu will validate an instrument for identifying functional decline in participating patients and then use the instrument to examine the mediating role of functional decline on age-related disparities in breast cancer treatment.

Results from the study will provide new information on the appropriate instrument for measuring functional decline in older women with breast cancer and on the role of functional decline in age-related disparities in breast cancer treatment.

"Understanding this relation is important for designing strategies for remediation of functional decline," said Dr. Owusu. "The ability to correctly identify reduced functional reserves among older women undergoing treatment for breast cancer should be helpful in ensuring that healthy independent older women go on to receive recommended guideline treatment, and those with reduced functional reserve receive the necessary remediation that optimizes their oncology care. Over the long-term, remediation of functional decline among older women with breast cancer should translate into reductions in treatment differences and improved breast cancer survival."

Dr. Owusu is a well-known national leader in the study of breast cancer in older women. She recently made multiple presentations around this important research area during the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.

Source: Case Western Reserve University