Surrogate and medical information desired by elderly cancer patients

Purpose of the study: To report the epidemiologic, clinical, extension, treatment and results of CEP in a Tunisian population from a department of medical oncology. Methods: We collected retrospectively from 2002 to 2007 cases of CEP (N70 years) within a recruitment of a medical oncology department in Tunisia. We analyzed the following data: age, sex, delay to diagnosis (DD), site, histologic type, stage, co-morbidities, treatment and evolution. Results: These CEP represented 16.7% of the 1507 patients treated for cancer during this period. Mean age was 77.7+/−4.21 years (70 to 86), SR 0.93, DD 7.8+/−5.28 months (1 to 48), while lung (49 cases), digestive (46 cases) and breast cancer (29 cases) represented the most frequent anatomic sites as well as co-morbidities in 75 cases. 11 patients (4.5%) developed metachronous second cancers and 40 pts (16.4%) have initial metastases at diagnosis. Treatment included chemotherapy in 148 pts (61.3%), surgery in 85 pts (34%) and radiotherapy in 40 pts (17%). Median survival was 24 months. Conclusion: CEP represented more than 15% of patients treated for cancer in a Tunisian series, this age group represented around 6% according to Tunisian population data about 10,732,900 inhabitants in July 2011. CEP are characterized by late diagnosis/consultation, frequent co-morbidities, locally advanced and/or metastatic cases and probably less aggressive treatment compared to younger patients.