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Assessment and Impact of Comorbidity in Older Adults with Cancer

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Geriatric Oncology

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Cancer is increasing with age. Almost 60% of cancers and two thirds of cancer deaths occur beyond the age of 65 years in developed countries [1]. Due to the aging of the population, this proportion is expected to increase in the future. Older patients present with increased concomitant diseases. In a geriatric series, people 65 years of age and older suffer on average from three different diseases, and, similarly, older cancer patients present a high level of comorbidity [2–5]. Furthermore, comorbidity does not appear to correlate closely with either tumor stage or functional status. Therefore, comorbidity should be assessed independently [3].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Oncologist, Army General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Athanasios Karampeazis

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, University General Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Greece

    Athanasios Karampeazis

  3. H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Martine Extermann

Authors
  1. Athanasios Karampeazis
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  2. Martine Extermann
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Correspondence to Athanasios Karampeazis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. City of Hope National Medical Center, E. Duarte Road 1500 , Duarte, 91010-3000, U.S.A.

    Arti Hurria

  2. Research Institute, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center &, Magnolia Drive 12902, Tampa, 33612, U.S.A.

    Lodovico Balducci

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Karampeazis, A., Extermann, M. (2009). Assessment and Impact of Comorbidity in Older Adults with Cancer. In: Hurria, A., Balducci, L. (eds) Geriatric Oncology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89070-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89070-8_5

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