Immunotherapy for older patients with cancer

The aim of this review is to describe the clinical use and tolerability of immune checkpoint inhibitors in older adults with solid tumors, where there is an abundance of evidence with recent updates including subgroups of older patients.

Studies with updated analyses and subgroups of older patients show that in general older patients benefit as well as younger patients and tolerate immunotherapy very well. However, in some instances of combination therapies which may expose patients to more toxicity, the benefits are reduced, and careful selection of older patients, including adjunctive assessments such as geriatric assessment, can help to identify the appropriate treatment for an individual patient.

Older adults remain underrepresented in clinical trials, including those involving immunotherapy. Therefore, efforts must be made to include more older patients in trials and to assess real-world evidence to inform decision-making.