Older, younger patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer have similar survival

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Older patients metastatic pancreatic cancer are less likely to receive chemotherapy and receive fewer agents yet have similar overall survival compared with younger patients with metastatic disease, according to a recent study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology.

For the study, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA, sought to compare patterns of care and outcomes of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who are less than 65 years of age with those older than 65 years of age treated at their institution.

The researchers analyzed the medical records of 579 patients who were treated between 2000 and 2010. Results showed that patients older than 65 years were less likely to receive any chemotherapy for their cancer. In addition, those over 65 who were treated were less likely to receive more than 1 agent.

Researchers found that survival was comparable between the two cohorts. In both groups, a higher number of treatment agents and lung metastatases was associated with longer overall survival, while liver metastates were associated with worse survival.

The findings suggest that older patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer with good performance status should be encouraged to enroll onto clinical trials.