Older Patients Are Less Affected by Radiochemotherapeutic Treatment than Younger.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The general assumption is that cancer therapy impairs the quality of life in elderly patients more than in younger ones. We were interested in the effects of radiochemotherapeutic treatment on the quality of life of elderly patients compared to younger patients and compared to normative data of a general German population.

Methods and materials

A total of 465 patients completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Repetitive completion of the questionnaire over time led to 1407 datasets. Our patient cohort contained 197 (42.4%) patients with colorectal cancer followed by 109 (23.4%) patients with head and neck cancer, 43 (9.2%) patients with lung cancer, and 116 (25%) with other types of cancer. Patients were categorized into five age groups, the respective cut-offs bein

SUBMITTER: Weiling MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5925006 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature