Cancer Research May Exclude Older Patients

Cancer Research May Exclude Older Cancer Patients

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that approximately 60 percent of individuals diagnosed with some form of cancer are over the age of 65. Despite this majority status, leading expert and researcher Dr. Eva Domingo from Hospital Vall d'Hebron reports that only one in four clinical cancer trial patients are over 65 years of age.

Dr. Domingo goes on to further conclude that older people are often "systematically excluded" from such research programs. The presumed reason is that older individuals often have other health issues and shorter life expectancies that would reduce their receptiveness to cancer treatments.

However, in a recent study led by Dr. Domingo, age was not shown to be a deciding factor in survival rates. Rather, a patient's overall quality of life and the stage of cancer development at detection were far more important. As such, it is hypothesized that older patients are just as likely to survive aggressive cancer treatments as younger patients.

However, the lack of older cancer patients in clinical trials likely leads to adverse affects on treatment practices for the age group. This is because clinical trials of younger individuals fail to take into account the complex health needs of older individuals. Due to this fact, many experts are suggesting improved inclusion of older cancer patients in future clinical trials.

The Cancer Research Network

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