[Tumors in the elderly]

The prevalence and incidence of cancer are age related; increased longevity thus increases the number of elderly patients with cancer. Only a few data suggest that en bloc radical cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer and radical prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer can be safely performed on properly selected elderly patients (aged 70 years or older) with results comparable to those for younger patients. Due to the physiologic decline in renal function and hepatic drug metabolism in old age, chemotherapeutic agents show increasing toxicity in the elderly. The elderly remain underrepresented in clinical trials. In the absence of comprehensive data on treatment in the elderly, the belief persists that the elderly derive less benefit and suffer greater toxic effects from chemotherapy than younger patients.