title: Pharmacokinetics of Selected Anticancer Drugs in Elderly Cancer Patients: Focus on Breast Cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elderly patients receiving anticancer drugs may have an increased risk to develop treatment-related toxicities compared to their younger peers. However, a potential pharmacokinetic (PK) basis for this increased risk has not consistently been established yet. Therefore, the objective of this study was to systematically review the influence of age on the PK of anticancer agents frequently administered to elderly breast cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search was performed using the PubMed electronic database, Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) and available drug approval reviews, as published by EMA and FDA. Publications that describe age-related PK profiles of selected anticancer drugs against breast cancer, excluding endocrine compounds, were selected and included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This review presents an overview of the available data that describe the influence of increasing age on the PK of selected anticancer drugs used for the treatment of breast cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Selected published data revealed differences in the effect and magnitude of increasing age on the PK of several anticancer drugs. There may be clinically-relevant, age-related PK differences for anthracyclines and platina agents. In the majority of cases, age is not a good surrogate marker for anticancer drug PK, and the physiological state of the individual patient may better be approached by looking at organ function, Charlson Comorbidity Score or geriatric functional assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy &amp; Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. marie-rose.crombag@slz.nl.|Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. marie-rose.crombag@slz.nl.
authors.forename: Marie-Rose B S
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Crombag
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen 9007, Switzerland. markus.joerger@kssg.ch.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joerger
authors.affiliation: Breast Center, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen 9007, Switzerland. beat.thuerlimann@kssg.ch.
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thürlimann
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. j.schellens@nki.nl.|Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology &amp; Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3508 TC, The Netherlands. j.schellens@nki.nl.|Department of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. j.schellens@nki.nl.
authors.forename: Jan H M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Schellens
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy &amp; Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. jos.beijnen@slz.nl.|Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. jos.beijnen@slz.nl.|Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology &amp; Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3508 TC, The Netherlands. jos.beijnen@slz.nl.
authors.forename: Jos H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Beijnen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy &amp; Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. alwin.huitema@slz.nl.|Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam 1066 CX, The Netherlands. alwin.huitema@slz.nl.
authors.forename: Alwin D R
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Huitema
keywords: anticancer drugs; breast cancer; elderly; pharmacokinetics; pharmacology