Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is feasible in elderly patients with esophagogastric adenocarcinoma despite slightly more adverse events and dose reductions, a recent study published online ahead of print in the European Journal of Cancer has shown.
Previous research has demonstrated that neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with localized esophagogastric adenocarcinoma, but its impact on prognosis was unknown in older patients.
Researchers analyzed data from 460 patients with esophagogastric adenocarcinoma who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery between 2000 and 2012. Of those, 38% were over the age of 70 years old.
Continue Reading
Results showed that older patients were at an increased risk for comorbidities than younger patients. Researchers also found that elderly patients were more likely to receive doublet rather than triplet chemotherapy and oxaliplatin-based instead of cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
RELATED: Physicians May Underestimate Recurrence of Gastrointestinal Tumors After Resection
There was no statistically significant difference in rate of serious adverse events or postoperative morbidity between the two groups.
In regard to efficacy, median overall survival was 58.4 months in younger patients and was not reached in older patients. Five-year overall survival was 51% and 50%, respectively.
Reference
- Lorenzen S, Spoerl S, Al-Batran S-E, et al. Impact of age on the feasibility and efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced oesophagogastric cancer. E J Cancer. 2015. [epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2015.07.002.
