Lymphoma and myeloma in older patients.

Lymphoma and myeloma represent an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in the older patient group. Studies to date, while limited, suggest that there may be differences in the underlying biology of the tumor cell of some lymphoid malignancies in younger versus older patients. Significant new data will be required to document and elucidate the differences and use them to tailor therapy to discrete disease entities. Increasing numbers of clinical trials are addressing the issues of treatment in the elderly, particularly in the aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. However, much work remains in improving the participation of older patient groups in current clinical trials and in overcoming inherent treatment biases related to concerns of toxicity simply as a function of age, both of which limit application of existing successful therapy to older patient groups.