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Changes in the risk of death from cancer up to five years after diagnosis in elderly patients: A study of five common cancers
Author(s) -
Colonna Marc,
Bossard Nadine,
Remontet Laurent,
Grosclaude Pascale
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.25101
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , hazard ratio , disease , rectum , mortality rate , breast cancer , prostate cancer , colorectal cancer , lung cancer , excess mortality , surgery , confidence interval
Cancer mortality in elderly people is described to highlight the mechanisms that could potentially explain observed differences with other age groups. Data from 15 French cancer registries were considered in the search for the 5‐year outcome of patients diagnosed during the period 1989–1997. Relative survival, excess mortality hazard, and hazard ratio of mortality were estimated to describe patient outcome according to age. Five cancer sites were selected: colon/rectum, prostate, breast, head/neck, and lung. An excess mortality rate was found in patients aged over 75 at the time of diagnosis. This excess mortality rate was mainly seen during the first months after diagnosis, then it decreased gradually with time. An initial phenomenon of patient selection, a greater disease severity at the time of diagnosis, and less‐effective treatments given to elderly patients are the most plausible explanations for the increased risk of cancer‐related death in the eldest patients.