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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Age: a critical factor in cancer management
— a prospective comparative study of 400 patients | | Author(s) | José Luis Fírvida, Nuria Viñolas, Montserrat Muñoz |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 28, no 2, March 1999 |
| Pages | pp 103-105 |
| Keywords | Cancer ; Age groups [elderly] ; Young elderly ; Over 70s ; Therapeutics ; Comparison ; Spain. |
| Annotation | Older people are often excluded from cancer treatments solely on grounds of age. In this Spanish study, the factors compared between younger and older subjects were performance status, associated chronic diseases, delay in diagnosis, stage of disease, and initial treatment. 54 patients (25.5%) under 70 years of age were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis, in comparison with 25 (12.5%) of the 200 older patients. Associated chronic pathologies were more frequent in the older patients (55% vs 18.5%). There were no statistical differences between both groups in diagnostic delay. Localised disease was found in 127 (63%) of younger patients and in 109 (54%) of older patients, the difference not being significant. A higher percentage of patients in the younger group underwent oncological treatment (87.5% vs 56%). The main cause of therapeutic exclusion in both groups was poor performance status. However, in the older group, other variables - e.g. presence of chronic disease, patients' or relatives' wishes, and doctors' opinions - influenced the decision not to give specific treatment. The study confirms the existence of clinical and treatment differences as regards to age of cancer patients. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990428001 A |
| Classmark | CK: BB: BBA: BBK: LL: 48: 76S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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