Geriatrics

Two independent studies of older patients receiving initial chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer or non-small-cell lung cancer have found that the risk for hospitalization or death may be predicted by the cytotoxic regimen used.

The combination of rituximab, gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin has potential for the treatment of older patients with a new diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, suggests a Chinese phase II trial.

This roundup of research presented at ESTRO 37 – the annual meeting of the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology, held in Barcelona, Spain – covers chemoradiotherapy in older non-small-cell lung cancer patients, predictors of mortality in radiotherapy-treated NSCLC patients, and ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Two trials reported in The Lancet Oncology point to novel, first-line treatment options for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia and those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Here we cover a study exploring the effects of age on melanoma immunotherapy outcomes and two clinical trials, one assessing anamorelin in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer-related cachexia and the other investigating a novel fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor in the advanced cholangiocarcinoma setting.

A meta-analysis has identified the key modifiable factors associated with an increased or decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Slowed amyloid-beta turnover may explain aging’s association with increased amyloidosis and Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers.

Older patients with traumatic spinal cord injury experience significant delays in being transferred to a specialist treatment centre and receiving surgery, compared with younger patients, study findings show.

Musculoskeletal pain affects more than half of people aged 90 years and older, a Danish cohort study has found.

Canadian researchers report that balance training can significantly improve outcomes when added to pulmonary rehabilitation programs for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Researchers in Australia report that a community-level social marketing campaign has been successful in raising asthma awareness among older adults.

US researchers have found that use of continuous positive airway pressure in patients with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea is associated with reductions in mortality, even when used only minimally.

Increased visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is associated with impaired cognition in elderly patients with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, shows a secondary analysis of a randomized, controlled trial.

Fragmented sleep in older adults may increase their rate of cognitive decline and risk for Alzheimer’s disease, actigraphy-based study findings indicate.

A population-based study shows that patients with schizophrenia are more likely to die in a nursing home than mentally healthy individuals, raising questions about the adequacy of palliative care they receive in this setting.

Poor self-reported sleep quality, but not objectively measured sleep quality, predicts future depression in older men, indicates a large, follow-up study.

Discrepancy between self-report and actigraphy-measured sleep in older adults with insomnia who perceive their poor sleep to be a problem may be indicative of a meaningful sleep disturbance rather than a measurement error, researchers suggest.

Long sleep duration and persistent insomnia are associated with increased visit-to-visit blood pressure variability in elderly individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disorder, research shows.

Findings from a US study suggest that improving oral hygiene could reduce rates of pneumonia in community-dwelling older adults.

Older adults with metastatic renal cell carcinoma are less likely to receive treatment, and have a poorer outcome than their younger peers, research suggests.