Colorectal Cancer News

Study: Doctors Less Likely to Give Chemo to Older Colon Cancer Patients

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2004, about 639,000 people around the world died from colon cancer. However, if caught in time, surgery and chemotherapy can successfully treat the disease. A new randomized experiment found that older cancer patients are not always offered another treatment option to extend their lives.

The study consisted of 675 patients diagnosed with stage three colon cancer, all of whom had undergone surgery. Of the 202 patients older than 75 years old, half had also received supplemental chemotherapy. Of the younger patients, 87 percent received supplemental chemotherapy.

Compared to their younger counterparts, older patients were given weaker doses of supplemental chemotherapy in shorter periods of time. The elderly patients turned out to have fewer poor effects from the drugs than younger patients.

References:

Smith, Melinda. Study: Doctors Less Likely to Give Chemo to Older Colon Cancer Patients. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2010 March 18.

Return