Concurrent chemo-radiotherapy in elderly patients: tolerance and compliance in a series of 137 patients

Abstract

Concurrent CRT for elderly was feasible and quite well tolerated. Great attention in prescribing CT dose should be paid to limit acute toxicity.

Prediction of Radiotherapy Compliance in Elderly Cancer Patients Using an Internally Validated Decision Tree

“…Other studies have also found the CCI to be a significant factor affecting adherence to treatments in females, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy in breast cancer [ 34 ]. Nonetheless, Di Genesio Pagliuca et al [ 13 ] found no statistically significant correlation between the CCI and chemotherapy in a mixed population of 137 (60% males and 40% females) elderly patients treated with chemoradiotherapy. These contradictory results on the importance of the CCI to predict treatment compliance can be attributed to the difference in the patient population under consideration.…”

“…This frailty, combined with common multiple comorbidities, makes them vulnerable to chronic illnesses and even therapy [ 9 , 10 ], making it difficult to choose the appropriate treatment [ 2 , 11 , 12 ]. Although studies have shown that some treatments are feasible for elderly patients [ 13 , 14 ], the likelihood of their discontinuation is greater than that of the younger generation [ 15 ]. This is primarily because of increased comorbidity, decreased performance status, and overall poor health due to treatment [ 16 ].…”

Feasibility and Benefit of Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Elderly Patients with Uterine Cervical Cancer

“…One was a study including 60 elderly patients who were treated with RT; the results indicated that age is not associated with a higher rate of acute or chronic sequelae (2). The other study, by Di Genesio Pagliuca et al (19), evaluated CCRT in elderly patients with 14 types of cancer including 2 patients with cervical cancer (1.5%) aged >70 years, and concluded that CCRT for the elderly was feasible and well tolerated. Therefore, the clinical benefit of CCRT for elderly patients with cervical cancer should be examined further.…”