Abstract
Cancer prevalance and incidence is increasing with aging of populations and age is a critical factor in decision-making for anti-cancer treatment. However it is believed that chronological age is not enough to guide management in elderly cancer patients. Multidisciplinary evaluation and comprehensive geriatric assessment has gained importance regarding the treatment selection especially for definitive anti-cancer therapy recently. We here aimed to analyse the effect of the comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters on radiotherapy toxicity and tolerability in a series of geriatric cancer patients in Turkey.
Highlights
Cancer prevalence and incidence increases with age and the mortality rates are higher in patients over 65 years of age (Pal and Hurria, 2010; Rodrigues and Sanatani, 2012)
Radiation therapy plannings were applied as three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) or intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
The main conclusion of the current study is that a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is important when making a decision regarding definitive radiation therapy in elderly patients
Summary
Cancer prevalence and incidence increases with age and the mortality rates are higher in patients over 65 years of age (Pal and Hurria, 2010; Rodrigues and Sanatani, 2012). Clinical trials on the elderly cancer population are limited due to the increased mortality rates associated with patients’ comorbidities and the fact that advanced age itself can exacerbate the management and outcome complexity (Yancik et al, 1999). There is limited data for this group of patients regarding treatment selection, tolerability, and outcomes related to age (Rodrigues and Sanatani, 2012). It is recommended that elderly cancer patients be discussed by multidisciplinary boards, including geriatricians, in order to optimize patient care, enhance the effectiveness of teatment, reduce treatment toxicity, and increase survival rates (Aliamus et al, 2011; Rodrigues and Sanatani, 2012)
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