Older women with breast cancer [1] are offered less treatment options than younger women, says a recent study which surveyed over 700 women in dozens of hospitals.

Reported in the journal Cancer, the study looked at women in 29 hospitals who were recently diagnosed with early breast cancer [1]. The women ranged in age from 67 to over 80 years old.

While women over 80 were less likely to be referred to radiation oncologists, the younger women studied fared far differently. Women ages 67 to 69 were 20 times more likely to receive breast-conservation surgery and radiation.

The older women were also 70 percent less likely to receive chemotherapy. The findings were independent of the women's general health [2] or personal preferences.

The study was conducted by Dr. Jeanne S. Mandelblatt and colleagues of Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C..