Age: a critical factor in cancer management. A prospective comparative study of 400 patients

Abstract

this study confirms that the clinical characteristics and treatment of aged people with cancer are different from those of younger patients. Nevertheless, there is considerable doubt about whether an arbitrary age limit should continue to be accepted as a discriminatory factor in some diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in cancer patients.

Elderly Patients With Painful Bone Metastases Should be Offered Palliative Radiotherapy

“…Canadians >70 years account for 42% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases and 60% of total cancer deaths (1). Elderly cancer patients are a unique population in cancer care, because they are more likely to have metastatic disease and often have more symptoms than younger patients (2)(3)(4). Poor performance status and comorbidities, which are commonly experienced by elderly patients, have been related to negative treatment outcomes in chemotherapy for older adults (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

“…However, several studies have established chemotherapy as an effective treatment with minimal toxicity in elderly patients on the basis of age alone (4,8,(12)(13)(14). These opposing views have led to an undertreatment epidemic in cancer care of the elderly, with many studies documenting the low numbers of elderly cancer patients receiving first-line, adjuvant, and palliative treatment (2,12,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”

“…Palliative RT has been shown to effectively manage symptoms in other cancer populations; however, age has been documented as a deterring factor in patient referral (2,18,22,36,37). The reluctance to prescribe palliative RT to elderly patients stems from the fear of inefficacy and potential toxicities.…”

Relación de la edad con el manejo de los pacientes diagnosticados de neoplasia en un Servicio de Medicina Interna

“…Nuestros pacientes presentaron síndrome constitucional en un 61% de casos, resultado que concuerda con series previas, donde el síndrome constitucional se halla presente entre un 30 y un 87% de los pacientes afectos de cáncer (19,20). Las características clínicas de los pacientes neoplásicos de mayor edad son diferentes de aquellos más jóvenes (21). En nuestra serie los ≥ 65 años presentaron síndrome constitucional con una frecuencia significativamente superior que los más jóvenes.…”

Quality of life in patients older than 75 years following major head and neck surgery

“…However, still many patients do not receive this option because of their own, their family's, or their physician's reluctance to have them undergo surgery at an advanced age. 2,3 In a study of patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer, elderly patients had fewer postoperative complications and no differences in survival rates when compared with younger patients. 4 Furthermore, octogenarians who underwent major surgery were shown to have long-term survival rates that equal those of the general elderly population.…”