Supportive Care or Specific Treatment? On Elderly Cancer Patients
Serkan Gokcay1, Elif Atag2, Eda Tanrikulu Simsek21Department of Medical Oncology, Mehmet Akif İnan Traininig and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Türkiye Department of Medical Oncology, Mehmet Akif İnan Traininig and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Türkiye, 2Department of Medical Oncology, Haydarpasa Numune Traininig and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Türkiye
Objectives: Cancer patients over the age of 75 are less likely to be referred for treatments than younger patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of receive disease-specific treatment or supportive care in patients diagnosed with cancer aged > 75 years. Methods: The study was conducted retrospectively by scanning the files of patients aged ? 75 years who were diagnosed with cancer between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019. The patients were divided into two groups: those who could only receive supportive care and those who received disease-specific treatment options. Patients were evaluated individually according to their disease stage, depending on their primary diagnosis. Results: There were 108 (38.7%) patients with early stage disease and 171 (61.3%) patients with metastatic disease. While 42.7% of the patients received supportive care, 57.3% were able to receive from disease-specific treatment options. Treatments in elderly cancer patients can be difficult and complex. Conclusion: Age should not be a single criteria when assessing for treatment of cancer patient, stage and type are more important. Keywords: Chemotherapy, ederly patients, treatment, supportive care
Cite This Article
Gokcay S, Atag E, Tanrikulu Simsek E. Supportive Care or Specific Treatment? On Elderly Cancer Patients. EJMI. 2023; 7(2): 123-129
Corresponding Author: Serkan Gokcay