Wasif N, et al. - Given that women older than 65 years constitute the majority of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in the United States, who may have additional co-morbidities, and that it is significant to consider these competing risks of death in balancing the risks and benefits of treatment, researchers identified women with Stage I breast cancer undergoing surgery using the SEER-Medicare database, and analyzed them for the association of age, race, comorbidity groupings and tumor variables with three competing mortality outcomes: dead of disease (DOD), dead of other cancers (DOC) and non-cancer death (NCD). They studied 47,220 patients; the cumulative incidence of mortality was 4.9% for DOD, 3.7% for DOC and 21.3% for NCD. They observed significantly increased probability of a NCD when the cases presented any major comorbidity (eg cardiovascular or neurological disorders), however, the strongest predictor of DOD was estrogen receptor status. As per findings, competing risks of death from DOD, DOC and NCD can be calculated by taking into account patient age, comorbidity and estrogen receptor status.