Risk assessment of disease recurrence in early breast cancer: A serum metabolomic study focused on elderly patients

•We reported the results of a retrospective study performed on elderly breast cancer patients enrolled in 3 onco-geriatric trials coordinated by the medical oncology division of the Hospital of Prato. This analysis suggests that a metabolomic signature, identified employing NMR spectral profiling, is able to predict the risk of disease recurrence in elderly patients with early breast cancer, independently from classical clinicopathological features. The metabolomic signature is a prognostic marker that takes into account not only the tumor but also the host. This is particularly relevant in the elderly, due to the heterogeneity of this population, and particularly in older patients with early breast cancer in whom other causes of death can compete with breast cancer in determining patients’ outcome.