Clinical factors associated with the therapeutic outcome of chemotherapy in very elderly cancer patients

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to detect background factors that might be associated with the therapeutic and curative outcome of chemotherapy in elderly cancer patients aged over 75 years. Methods A retrospective study was conducted for elderly cancer patients aged over 75 years who had received more than 2 courses of chemotherapy at our hospital. We analyzed the relationships between RECIST outcome and background factors, such as age, sex, clinical TNM stage, pre-treatment history, ECOG performance status, serum albumin, and Charlson comorbidity index using logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 103 cancer patients aged over 75 years were analyzed in this study, including 28 with hematological neoplasia, 36 with gastrointestinal tract cancers, 25 with breast cancers, and 14 with other malignancies originating in various tissues. Seventy-one patients (69.1%) had a positive clinical outcome including RECIST CR (complete response), PR (partial response) and SD (stable disease). Multivariate analysis showed that a high serum albumin level of more than 3.5 g/dl and a Charlson comorbidity index score of less than 2 points were positively correlated with a favorable therapeutic outcome. Conclusions The results of the current study suggested that serum albumin level and comorbidity index are the principal clinical factors affecting therapeutic outcomes in elderly cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. In the future, these factors may make chemotherapy adaptations, continuity, and effectiveness easier to predict than GA screening.

<p>Genetic Polymorphisms and the Efficacy of Platinum-Based Chemotherapy: Review</p>

“…Meanwhile, factors other than polymorphism also play an important role related to chemotherapy response, such as tumor heterogeneity, age, comorbidity and severity, treatment modality, previous therapy response, stage, serum albumin levels, the general condition of patients on Zubrod and Karnofsky scales, histology, and types of cancer, as well as chemotherapy side effects that occur in patients. [104][105][106][107][108] Age is related to physiology and comorbidities. A study stated that patients under 60 years old had a higher chance of survival with p = 0.016.…”

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Clinical Scales as Predictors of Mortality in Patients with Acute Leukemia During Intensive Induction Therapy

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Periodontal inflamed surface area in oral cavity associated with febrile neutropenia in patients with hematologic malignancy undergoing chemotherapy

“…Factors related to such adverse effects are roughly divided into therapy-related and patient-related 2 . While age, gender, performance status (PS), and chronic disease are obvious patient-related factors 3 , the oral environment is also thought to be associated with adverse effects 4 . Following the gut, the oral cavity houses the second most diverse and large microbiota including 700 species of bacteria, while the enormous amount of bacteria in dental plaque is equal to that found in stools 5 .…”