Health care economics of cancer in the elderly

Abstract

the traditional revenue sources of oncologists. Practice standards and settings Physician Reliance Network, Inc., Dallas, Texas.are being challenged to generate cost savings both for third-party payers and for oncology practices. Add to this the growing number of patients older than 65 years, and particularly older than 85 years, and the profession is facing a forced reconsideration of its approach to patient treatment. The current and future training of oncologists needs to incorporate both a multidisciplinary approach of cancer subspecialties and an enhanced ability to evaluate the use and cost-effectiveness of new therapies, second-line and third-line therapies, and palliative treatments.

Informal Caregiving Burden in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: The HABIT study

“…Cancer care is increasingly transferred from the inpatient to the outpatient setting, 8 and the burden of caring for cancer patients, especially elderly subjects, is falling increasingly on their families, with a continuous growth of informal assistance costs. 9 Few studies have examined this issue, highlighting that informal caregiving accounts for a substantial proportion of nonmedical costs incurred by cancer patients.…”

Geriatrische Onkologie, eine Herausforderung der Zukunft

“…Wollen wir erfolgreiche Sachwalter unserer älteren Tumorpatienten sein, so müssen wir die Datenlage zur Wirksamkeit und Effektivität der Tumorbehandlung älterer Patienten verbessern. Dies wird in Zukunft der beste Schutz vor einem scheinbar gesundheitsökonomisch, in Wirklichkeit aber monetär begründeten ethischen Utilarismus [4,32] sein. Der beste Weg, hin zu einer gesundheitspolitisch und ethisch gleichermaßen vertretbaren Behandlung älterer Tumorpatienten, führt deshalb unabdingbar über kontrollierte prospektive Studien zur Wirksamkeit und Effizienz der Diagnose-und Behandlungsmaßnahmen beim älteren Tumorpatienten.…”

Attitudes to radical gynecological oncology surgery in the elderly: a pilot study

“…Working in a dedicated gynecological oncology center, we perceive that the majority of elderly patients desire treatment that maximizes life expectancy and the chance of cure. However, we should not underestimate the potential role of the doctor‐patient relationship in influencing patient management decisions (19,31) . Our principal hypothesis is that there is no difference in the attitudes of elderly and younger patients to treatment of gynecological malignancy, in terms of desire for optimal surgery and disease cure, on the basis of age alone.…”

“…Inaccessibility and rationing of cancer care to the elderly has become a topical issue (12–16) , forming the focus of medical conferences (6,17) and public debate (18) . In the United States, the projected 10‐year increase from 1997 in the > 65‐year‐old population is 8.9%, and 36% for the population aged > 85 years (19) . Increasing incidence of cancer in the elderly in all Western countries will present significant medical, public health, economic, ethical and social dilemmas (20–23) .…”