Precision Oncology in Older Cancer Patients: A Single-Center Experience

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Geriatric Medicine

Background:

• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized cancer diagnosis and treatment.
• The role and effectiveness of NGS in older cancer patients are not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of NGS in older cancer patients.
• To compare treatment outcomes between younger and older cancer patient cohorts who underwent NGS testing.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 100 cancer patients (any subtype/stage) who underwent NGS in 2020.
• Patients were divided into two cohorts: <70 years (A) and ≥70 years (B).
• Comparison of demographic, clinicopathologic, and survival data (progression-free survival [PFS] and overall survival [OS]).

Main Results:

• 27% of patients had targetable mutations.
• 8% received NGS-determined targeted therapy, with lower rates in older patients (19% vs. 45% in cohort A, p=0.2).
• 3% of all patients benefited from targeted therapy (PFS > 6 months); no significant age-stratified difference in OS was observed (p=0.08).

Conclusions:

• NGS shows no significant age-stratified difference in diagnostic or treatment approaches.
• A small proportion of patients benefit from NGS-guided therapy.
• Older cancer patients with targetable mutations were less likely to receive targeted therapies.