Onkológia 6/2020

Role of immunotherapy in geriatric oncological patients

Due to advances in therapeutic options, the prognosis has been improved in many patients. Recently, immunotherapy has been one of the major advances in the treatment options for tumour diseases. Checkpoint inhibitors have been employed in an increasing group of solid tumour diseases, and their use is associated, for some diagnosis in particular, with a substantial improvement in treatment outcomes and patient prognosis. Currently, immunotherapy is used predominantly in treating malignant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer and bladder cancer. The problem of treatment in the elderly is that there is little evidence on the optimal treatment decisions. In older patiens, the treatment decision should begin with an estimate of life expectancy, an assesment of the general condition, and proceed to discussion of the benefits and risks of treatment. The American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines for geriatric oncology were published in 2018. The guidelines provide recommendations on the use of clinical assesment tools and decision making models for older patients. Clinicians should use results of the evalution when recommending individual therapeutic plan that can be adjusted in the case of olders patients.

Keywords: imunotherapy, geriatric oncology