Treatment Patterns and Survival of Elderly Patients With Breast Cancer Brain Metastases

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to analyze treatment patterns of elderly patients with breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM), evaluate characteristics associated with treatment selection, and to analyze trends in overall survival (OS) over time. Materials and Methods: We included women with BCBM reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare Program from 1992 to 2012. Treatments were recorded from Medicare claims from the date of brain metastases diagnosis until 60 days after. Treatments included resection, radiation, and chemotherapy. Cochran-Armitage tests were used for analysis of treatment patterns. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to determine factors associated with treatment selection. Cox regression modelled OS trends within each treatment modality across time. Results: Among 5969 patients included, treatment rates increased from 50% in 1992 to 64.1% in 2012 (P

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