title: Chemoradiotherapy of anal cancer is feasible in elderly patients: treatment results of mitomycin-5-FU combined with radiotherapy at Helsinki University Central Hospital 1992-2003.
abstract: The number of elderly patients with cancer is steadily increasing in developed countries and their treatment is a growing challenge for oncological departments. Anal cancer is the first tumour in which chemoradiotherapy with the intent of organ preservation has largely replaced surgery and is an interesting model of modern multimodal oncological treatment. At the Department of Oncology of the Helsinki University Central Hospital we have treated all patients irrespective of age following the same guidelines if there have been no specific contraindications on the basis of intercurrent diseases. The results suggest that the chemoradiotherapy protocol used in the treatment of anal cancer is reasonably well tolerated in elderly patients and the tumour control is comparable to those achieved in younger patients. After successful cancer therapy the life expectancy in these patients can be very long.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. kauko.saarilahti@hus.fi
authors.forename: Kauko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saarilahti
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arponen
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaalavirta
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tenhunen
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blomqvist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016685:Mitomycin; D005472:Fluorouracil