Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
12:24
A Three-Dimensional Spheroid Model to Investigate the Tumor-Stromal Interaction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Published on: September 30, 2021
5.8K
Epidemiology of HPB malignancy in the elderly
Marinos Pericleous1, Shahid A Khan1
1Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Summary
Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers are rising globally, with poor survival rates, particularly in the elderly. This review focuses on the epidemiology of these challenging cancers in older populations.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
- Geriatrics
Background:
- Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers show increasing global incidence.
- These malignancies have poor survival rates, especially in elderly patients, despite advances in care.
- Challenges in epidemiology include heterogeneous risk factors and coding systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the epidemiology of malignant HPB tumors.
- To focus specifically on the challenges and characteristics of HPB cancers in the elderly population.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of epidemiological data on HPB cancers.
- Analysis of factors influencing HPB cancer incidence and outcomes in the elderly.
Main Results:
- HPB cancers present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to late presentation and high recurrence rates.
- Elderly patients face additional complexities including comorbidities, polypharmacy, and frailty.
- Molecular heterogeneity impacts systemic therapy effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- The rising incidence of HPB cancers, particularly in the aging global population, necessitates focused research on elderly patient management.
- Understanding the unique epidemiological and clinical challenges in older adults is crucial for improving outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
180
In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
180
01:00Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
130
Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are...
130
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
162
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
162
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism
135
Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...
135
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
137
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
137
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
160
As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
160