Cancer in elderly: A study of hospital-based cancer registry in the Western Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study is to evaluate the data of cases who were 65 years and older among cancer records from the data of Izmir Cancer Registry (ICR), in Izmir Ataturk Research Training Hospital (IAEAH), according to topography, histology, sex and having multiple tumors and to compare them with the data of cases younger than 65 years.


METHODS
Twenty thousands eight hundred and thirty (20,830) cases (7148 cases are ≥65 years) recorded during the period of 1993-2005 by office of ICR, located in IAEAH, were analyzed. Assessment of data was carried out by SPSS 10.0 for Windows package program. For statistical analysis Pearson's Chi-Square Test and Yates 'corrections were performed.


RESULTS
Of 20,830 cases with cancer, recorded in the hospital data-base during 1993-2005, 34.3% were diagnosed at the age of 65 years and older. The most frequent tumor localizations in the cases younger than 65 years were breast, larynx, digestive system, skin and hematopoietic-reticuloendothelial system whereas the tumors in the, skin, digestive system and the urogenital system were more common in cases older than 65 years. When histological diagnoses were taken into consideration, basal cell carcinomas and squamous and transitional cell carcinoma were seen more frequent in the group of cases 65 years or older. The incidence of synchronous and metachronous tumors were not different in the cases younger or older than 65 years.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a strong need to establish a communication between national and international database systems, which would yield an opportunity in the comparison of the incidence of the diseases.
Radiation Oncology Clinic, Ministry of Health Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
S
S
Kilciksiz
Eb
E
Yilmaz
S
S
Yigit
A
A
Baloglu
cancer in elderly; histology; topography