Hope for very elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

摘要

Advanced age has a strong negative effect on the prognosis of patients with cancer. Elderly and very elderly patients present with variable degrees of functional impairment, comorbidity, chronic undernutrition, decline in cognitive functions, and socioeconomic problems. These features, together with impaired bone-marrow function and altered metabolism of drugs, explain the decreased ability of elderly patients to tolerate treatment. The increasing incidence of many cancers-such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma-with age, and the increase in life expectancy of the general population in developed countries makes treatment of cancer in the elderly a substantial challenge for oncologists and haematologists.