Department of Solid Tumor Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Semin Oncol. 2011 Jun;38(3):362-6. doi: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2011.03.004.
People age 65 years and older are the fastest growing segment of the US population. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the elderly. Geriatric oncology has developed since most cancer cases are diagnosed in elderly patients and the majority of cancer deaths occur in elderly patients. Little is known on how to best treat elderly patients with cancer and deal with treatment side effects and palliative care. Most recommendations have focused on the need for clinical trials specifically for the elderly with cancer, and a short, easy tool to predict chemotherapy toxicity. The focus of geriatric oncologists has been to integrate geriatric assessment into the care of the elderly cancer patient and find new assessment tools to predict chemotherapy tolerance, toxicity, and outcomes. Understanding the importance of supportive management during antineoplastic treatment and developing an intentional approach to palliative care issues (which are an important part of treating elderly patients with cancer) will help patients complete a full treatment course and maintain quality of life.
65 岁及以上的人群是美国人口增长最快的部分。癌症是老年人的主要死亡原因之一。老年肿瘤学的发展是因为大多数癌症病例是在老年患者中诊断出来的，而且大多数癌症死亡发生在老年患者中。对于如何最好地治疗老年癌症患者以及处理治疗副作用和姑息治疗，知之甚少。大多数建议都集中在需要专门针对患有癌症的老年人进行临床试验，以及一个简短、易于使用的工具来预测化疗毒性。老年肿瘤学家的重点一直是将老年评估纳入老年癌症患者的护理中，并找到新的评估工具来预测化疗耐受性、毒性和结果。了解在抗肿瘤治疗期间支持性管理的重要性，并制定姑息治疗问题的有意方法（这是治疗老年癌症患者的重要部分），将有助于患者完成完整的治疗过程并保持生活质量。
