ABSTRACT

In 1999, about 176,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, and nearly 44,000 women are expected to die from the disease (1). Approximately one half of all cases of breast cancer occur in women older than 65 years of age. Cancer of all kinds is the leading cause of death for women older than 75 years old (1), and breast cancer mortality is second only to colorectal cancer as a cause of death for this age group (1). From SEER (Surveillance, Evaluation, and End-Results [Program]) data, the overall breast cancer incidence rate for women aged 65 years and older is 443 per 100,000 (460 per 100,000 for whites and 365 per 100,000 for African-Americans) (2). Comparable incidence rates for women under 65 years of age are 110 per 100,000 overall: 113.5 per 100,000 for whites and 99.5 per 100,000 for blacks. The large number of women over the age of 65 years who face the problem of breast cancer make breast cancer screening an important public health issue.