[Geriatric urology -- tumour diseases]

Due to demographic developments malignancies of urogenital origin will gain increasing importance. The urologist will face a growing group of patients with co-morbidities and functional disabilities as these neoplasms increase with age. Optimisation of peri-interventional management successfully reduces the risks of surgery. Integration of taxane-based cytostatic regimes achieves a prolongation of survival in hormone-refractory metastatic prostatic cancer. The introduction of gemcitabine in the management of malignancies of the bladder seems to have reduced toxicity while maintaining anti-tumour activity in comparison to MVAC. The role of haematopoetic growth factors remains to be defined in urologic malignancies - increasing dose intensity for better activity or reduction of toxicity. Individualisation of treatment requires early cooperation of the urologist, the oncologist and the geriatrician for an optimal outcome.