[Pharmacotherapeutic Treatment of Elderly Cancer Patients]

Age-specific analyses of mortality rates in Japan show that cancer was the leading cause of death for the age group 40-89 years in the year 2013. Although the crude mortality rate from cancer has recently increased, the age-adjusted cancer mortality rate has shown a decreasing trend. This suggests that the increases in the crude mortality rate may have been caused by the aging of the population. Cancer patients who are old present many comorbidities and newly diagnosed geriatric problems. Several tools provide determinants of survival in cancer patients who are old (including the comprehensive geriatric assessment [CGA]) in order to improve the quality of cancer care in this population.