abstract
Highlights
- •Older patients with ovarian cancer are less likely to enroll on clinical trial.
- •Women ≥ 70 tolerated chemotherapy on trial as well as their younger counterparts
- •Age ≥ 70 is an independent predictor of shorter overall survival in ovarian cancer.
Introduction
Increasing
age has been correlated with shorter survival in ovarian cancer
patients, a finding attributed to diminished tolerance of standard
therapy. Elderly patients, however, are less likely to enroll on
clinical trials; thus, limited data exists to evaluate their response to
front line treatment. This study describes how elderly patients on
trial fared, with respect to toxicity and response, compared to younger
women.
Methods
A retrospective cohort
study was performed of ovarian cancer patients enrolled in front line
chemotherapy trials at our institution between 2000 and 2013. Patients
were dichotomized by age: <70 and ≥70 years. Clinical, pathologic, and treatment characteristics were recorded and analyzed using SAS version 9.3.
Results
336 patients were enrolled. Of these, 79 (23.5%) were ≥70 yrs. Demographics were similar between the two groups. Compared to patients <70, those ≥70 completed a comparable number of chemotherapy cycles (p = 0.16) and had similar numbers of dose modifications (p = 0.40) and delays (p = 0.26).
Both hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities occurred at similar
rates as well. Age ≥ 70 (HR 1.8, 95% CI 1.27–2.54, p = 0.0009), stage III/IV (HR 3.44, 95% CI 1.08–10.95, p = 0.036), and residual disease (HR 2.63, 95% CI 1.82–3.78, p < 0.0001) were independently predictive of shorter overall survival.
Conclusion
Our
data continues to support reports of shorter survival for older women
with ovarian cancer. With physician bias removed and similar
chemotherapy tolerance noted, our study suggests that inherent tumor
biology may be a significant contributor. Further research is needed to
identify the mechanisms which contribute to the inequality that age
imposes on outcomes.
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