Purpose: To judge the enrollment of older patients (≥ 65 years) in Canadian cancer treatment trials and compare accrual of older patients in Canada and also the U . s . States.
Patients and techniques: A retrospective research into the quantity of older patients signed up for National Cancer Institute of Canada Numerous Studies Group (NCIC CTG) treatment trials between 1993 and 1996 was performed. These rates were in contrast to the related rates within the general population of patients who have been ≥ 65 years of age coupled with cancer, acquired from Statistics Canada, and individuals printed through the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) within the U . s . States.
Results: Between 1993 and 1996, 4,174 patients were enrolled onto 69 NCIC CTG trials of 16 tumor types. Older patients taken into account 22% of trial enrollees, in contrast to 58% from the Canadian population with cancer. This discrepancy existed in most cancer types aside from multiple myeloma. The chances of older patients enrolled were also examined by study type: 15% in adjuvant trials, 25% in metastatic trials, 29% in investigational new drug trials, 24% in phase I trials, and 21% in supportive care trials. The general proportion of older patients enrolled onto Canadian trials (22%) was slightly less than that in SWOG trials (25%).
Conclusion: Age remains an obstacle for accrual onto cancer treatment trials, even if reimbursement isn’t an issue. Ways of overcome this barrier, such as the implementation of trials particularly tailored to patients aged ≥ 65 years, are prudent considering our aging population.
Resourse: http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/
