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Radiation Therapy and the Geriatric Oncology Patient

Jean-Claude Horiot

From the Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer G.F. Leclerc, Dijon, France

Address reprint requests to Jean-Claude Horiot, MD, C.G.F.L., 1 rue Professeur Marion, Dijon, France 21079; e-mail: jchoriot{at}dijon.fnclcc.fr

Delivering radiotherapy to the geriatric cancer patient raises several questions: Are there objective reasons to consider the elderly population as potentially more vulnerable to radiation therapy than younger people? In practice, how are geriatric patients treated when radiotherapy is indicated? Recent data from French tumor registries on rectal cancers are reviewed to illustrate the evolution of the practices during a 20-year period up to 2000. Is there a changing landscape in radiotherapy research protocols in the elderly? Thirty-one European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (Brussels, Belgium) radiotherapy protocols are analyzed regarding compliance to the 1996 recommendation of having no upper age limit when other eligibility factors are fulfilled. To conclude, specific recommendations for optimal radiotherapeutic management of geriatric patients are made for some common cancers in the elderly.

Author's disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

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