From suboptimal to optimal treatment in older patients with cancer

摘要

Multiple barriers preclude elderly patients from receiving optimal treatment. This includes mainly comorbidities and frailty of the patient, age-related patient and family reluctance for treatment - or even work-up before diagnosis - as well as socioeconomic inequalities, distance from referral centers, and under-evaluation and/or inadequate treatment at the medical level once the cancer has been diagnosed. Intervention on these different factors appears possible and may improve outcome.