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Review
. 2018 Nov 15:7:F1000 Faculty Rev-1793.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.14264.1. eCollection 2018.

Recent advances in non-surgical management of cancer in the elderly

Emily J Guerard  1   2 , Gil E Harmon  1 , Kieran D Sahasrabudhe  1 , Noelle K LoConte  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in non-surgical management of cancer in the elderly

Emily J Guerard et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

This article summarizes the seminal publications from mid-2016 through 2017 in the area of medical care for older adults with cancer. Areas addressed include chemotherapy tolerance and efficacy in the aged, geriatric fitness assessments, and advancements in palliative and supportive care. The practice-changing finding from this past year's publications is that antipsychotics should not be used in the management of terminal delirium in older adults receiving palliative care. The other trials demonstrated an improved understanding of the utility of geriatric assessments in patients with cancer, developed the body of information about which chemotherapy agents are safe and effective in older adults (and which are not), and expanded our understanding of good palliative and supportive care.

Keywords: chemotherapy; elderly; geriatric assessment; oncology; palliative care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Noelle K. LoConte received advisory board funding from Celgene and Bayer and has served as a consultant for AbbVie. The other authors declare that they have no competing interests.No competing interests were disclosed.No competing interests were disclosed.

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