RT Book, Section
A1 Kumar, Satish
A2 Ring, Alistair
A2 Harari, Danielle
A2 Kalsi, Tania
A2 Mansi, Janine
A2 Selby, Peter
SR Print(0)
ID 1152357784
T1 Special Issues Concerning Systemic Anticancer Therapy in Older Cancer Patients
T2 Problem Solving in Older Cancer Patients
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB Clinical Publishing
PP New York, NY
SN 9781846921100
LK hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1152357784
RD 2021/03/05
AB People  over  the  age  of  65  are  the  fastest  growing  segment  of  the  UK  population.  By  2034,  their  number  is  projected  to  rise  by  50%,1  when  the  over-65s  will  make  up  more  than  20%  of  the  population.  This  changing  demographic  has  resulted  in  a  >50%  cancer  incidence  in  the  50-74  age  group;  a  third  of  all  new  cancer  diagnoses  are  in  the  >75  age  group.2  Three-quarters  of  all  cancer  deaths  occur  in  the  >65  age  group  and  a  half  of  all  cancer  deaths  occur  in  the  >70  age  group.  While  the  cancer  burden  is  highest  in  the  older  age  group,  the  evidence  for  systemic  anticancer  therapy  (SACT)  comes  largely  from  retrospective  and  subgroup  analyses  of  prospective  clinical  trials,  and  caution  should  be  exercised  in  extrapolating  results  to  the  general  older  population.  The  data,  however,  suggest  that  SACT  can  be  safe  and  effective  for  these  patients,  although  there  is  a  tendency  to  greater  treatment-related  morbidity.  This  chapter  will  consider  the  important  aspects  of  SACT  prescribing  and  the  clinical  data  underpinning  its  use  in  older  people.