title: Prevention and therapy of neutropenia in elderly patients.
abstract: Standard chemotherapy in elderly patients is still nowadays a difficult issue, due to the fact that marrow reserve decrease with age and the results might lead to higher toxicity of otherwise well tolerated regimen and schedule. In the literature, very few data exist of myelosuppression in patients with solid tumors, while more data have been published on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The burden of toxicity increase with age, leading to the fact that some patients with curable or sensitive disease do not receive appropriate treatment. One of the ways to try to circumvent neutropenia is the prophylactic use of haematopoietic growth factors with the double aim of maintaining dose-intensity and reducing toxicity. This paper will describe the patterns of marrow toxicity in treating elderly patients with cancer and the role of haematopoietic growth factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Hematology, High-Dose Chemotherapy Unit, Ospedale Civile, Viale Randi 5, 48100, Ravenna, Italy. rosti@ra.nettuno.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rosti
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kopf
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cariello
authors.forename: Manlio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dazzi
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papiani
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giovanis
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: De Giorgi
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marangolo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor