Treatment Outcomes in Older Adults with Cancer

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 September 2024 | Viewed by 1088

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
Interests: cancer rehabilitation; occupational; physical and speech therapy; function; cancer-related cognitive decline; physical function; physical health; health related quality of life; patient reported measure and scale development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer is a disease that presents during aging. By 2030, more that 70% of adults with cancer will be over the age of 65. Many older adults can have complex healthcare needs at time of diagnosis, including comorbid conditions and pre-existing physical or cognitive impairments, a decreased functional ability and an increased risk of falling. This puts older adults at a disadvantage as they prepare to recover from cancer treatment. Yet, aging is a heterogenous process, and in some cases, older adults are quite robust, but due to their age and potential ageism, they do not receive proper treatment. Gaps in understanding the treatment outcomes of older adults with cancer and the impact of supportive services to address the needs of this population remain. This Special Issue will highlight outcomes in older adults with cancer, covering innovative models, approaches and results in cancer treatment and the impact of supportive services.

Dr. Mackenzi Pergolotti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • older adults with cancer
  • geriatric oncology
  • geriatric assessment
  • supportive care
  • palliative care
  • cancer rehabilitation
  • nutrition
  • physical activity
  • functional status
  • survivorship

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 771 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Language Used to Describe Older Patients at Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences
by Valerie S. Kim, Anthony Carrozzi, Efthymios Papadopoulos, Isabel Tejero, Thirisangi Thiruparanathan, Nathan Perlis, Andrew J. Hope, Raymond W. Jang and Shabbir M. H. Alibhai
Cancers 2024, 16(8), 1477; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16081477 - 12 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Older adults with cancer often present with distinct complexities that complicate their care, yet the language used to discuss their management at multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) remains poorly understood. A mixed methods study was conducted at a tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada, [...] Read more.
Older adults with cancer often present with distinct complexities that complicate their care, yet the language used to discuss their management at multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) remains poorly understood. A mixed methods study was conducted at a tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada, where MCCs spanning five tumour sites were attended over six months. For presentations pertaining to a patient aged 75 or older, a standardized data collection form was used to record their demographic, cancer-related, and non-cancer-related information, as well as the presenter’s specialty and training level. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were employed to explore MCC depictions of older patients (n = 75). Frailty status was explicitly mentioned in 20.0% of presentations, but discussions more frequently referenced comorbidity burden (50.7%), age (33.3%), and projected treatment tolerance (30.7%) as surrogate measures. None of the presentations included mentions of formal geriatric assessment (GA) or validated frailty tools; instead, presenters tended to feature select GA domains and subjective descriptions of appearance (“looks to be fit”) or overall health (“relatively healthy”). In general, MCCs appeared to rely on age-focused language that may perpetuate ageism. Further work is needed to investigate how frailty and geriatric considerations can be objectively incorporated into discussions in geriatric oncology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Treatment Outcomes in Older Adults with Cancer)
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22 pages, 951 KiB  
Article
Predictors of Survival, Treatment Modalities, and Clinical Outcomes of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in Patients Older Than 70 Years Still an Unmet Medical Need in 2024 Based on Real-World Evidence
by Luís Alberto de Pádua Covas Lage, Rita Novello De Vita, Lucas Bassolli de Oliveira Alves, Mayara D’Auria Jacomassi, Hebert Fabrício Culler, Cadiele Oliana Reichert, Fábio Alessandro de Freitas, Vanderson Rocha, Sheila Aparecida Coelho Siqueira, Renata de Oliveira Costa and Juliana Pereira
Cancers 2024, 16(8), 1459; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16081459 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 335
Abstract
Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) especially affects the older population. Old (≥60 years) and very old age (≥80 years) DLBCL patients often present high-risk molecular alterations, lower tolerability to conventional immunochemotherapy, and poor clinical outcomes. In this scenario, attenuated therapeutic strategies, such [...] Read more.
Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) especially affects the older population. Old (≥60 years) and very old age (≥80 years) DLBCL patients often present high-risk molecular alterations, lower tolerability to conventional immunochemotherapy, and poor clinical outcomes. In this scenario, attenuated therapeutic strategies, such as the R-MiniCHOP and R-MiniCHOP of the elderly regimens, have emerged for this particularly fragile population. However, the responses, clinical outcomes, and toxicities of these regimens currently remain poorly understood, mainly because these individuals are not usually included in controlled clinical trials. Methods: This retrospective, observational, and single-center real-world study included 185 DLBCL, NOS patients older than 70 years treated at the largest oncology center in Latin America from 2009 to 2020. We aimed to assess the outcomes, determine survival predictors, and compare responses and toxicities between three different primary therapeutic strategies, including the conventional R-CHOP regimen and the attenuated R-MiniCHOP and R-MiniCHOP of the elderly protocols. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 75 years (70–97 years), and 58.9% were female. Comorbidities were prevalent, including 19.5% with immobility, 28.1% with malnutrition, and 24.8% with polypharmacy. Advanced clinical stage was observed in 72.4%, 48.6% had bulky disease ≥7 cm, 63.2% had B-symptoms, and 67.0% presented intermediate–high/high-risk IPI. With a median follow-up of 6.3 years, the estimated 5-year OS and PFS were 50.2% and 44.6%, respectively. The R-MiniCHOP of the elderly regimen had a lower ORR (p = 0.040); however, patients in this group had higher rates of unfavorable clinical and laboratory findings, including hypoalbuminemia (p = 0.001), IPI ≥ 3 (p = 0.013), and NCCN-IPI ≥ 3 (p = 0.002). Although associated with higher rates of severe neutropenia (p = 0.003), the R-CHOP regimen promoted increased OS (p = 0.003) and PFS (p = 0.005) in comparison to the attenuated protocols. Additionally, age ≥ 75 years, high levels of LDH, B-symptoms, advanced clinical stage (III/IV), neutrophilia, and low lymphocyte/monocyte ratio were identified as poor prognostic factors in this cohort. Conclusions: In this large and real-life Latin American cohort, we demonstrated that patients with DLBCL, NOS older than 70 years still do not have satisfactory clinical outcomes in 2024, with half of cases not reaching 5 years of life expectancy after diagnosis. Although the conventional R-CHOP offers response and survival advantages over attenuated regimens, its myelotoxicity is not negligible. Therefore, the outcomes reported and the prognostic factors here identified may assist clinicians in the appropriate selection of therapeutic strategies adapted to the risk for old and very old DLBCL patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Treatment Outcomes in Older Adults with Cancer)
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